Taking Wing

“On this day,people from all across India buy colourful and innovative kites and fly them in the sky. In the sky,the whole world is one; there is no discrimination,no communal divides,no Hindu kite or Muslim kite,” says 76-year-old Shaban Khan Patangwale,whose family is one of the oldest kite makers in Mumbai . Needless to say,Makar Sankranti is their festival too.

From all corners of Mumbai,kite-lovers come to purchase his stylish,colourful creations.

Khan opened his shop in 1949 and named it,aptly for that year,Indian Fighter Kites.

“We make special kites on order. Till now,we have made a 7-ft kite,our tallest. The design,colour and height of every special kite is customised according to the wishes of our customers,” he says.

Khan has five sons,but three are in other businesses.

“Two sons,Abdul Rahman Khan and Shamim Khan,are with me in the kite business,” says the septuagenarian.

“Indian kites are all fighter kites actually. But a few kites are made only for display,on special occasions like new year,a birthday,Christmas or any other special occasion,” says Abdul Rahman,showing some small kites bearing birthday and Christmas greetings.

“Sometimes,people even turn these little kites into invitations,” he informs.

As Makar Sankranti nears,Patang Gali is flooded with multicoloured kites with pictures of stars,peacocks and others. There are more expensive varieties too— the butterfly kite,the Dhoom kite and an eagle-shaped kite,that are priced between Rs 200 to Rs 600 apiece. But buyers are limited for these special creations.

“Simple kites made of tissue papers are popular and have a lot of buyers,especially children. Also,these are cheaper. Each kite costs between Re 1 and Rs 6. But we also make kites for export,using metallic paper since that cannot tear easily. For display kites too,metallic paper is used,” says the older Khan,showing some samples of metallic,shiny kites with long tails.

Kites are not popular only in India,says Khan,adding that he exports to the USA,Italy and Switzerland. He even has a series of foreign trips under his belt,visiting Switzerland frequently and also exporting more than 500 kites there each year.

The manjha,or the kite-string,is procured especially from Bareilly,every millimeter of the string coated with glass to cut rival kites.

The sale of kites continues through the year but Makar Sankranti is special for Patang Galli,when big shops rake in profits to the tune of Rs 1 to Rs 3 lakh.