Authors: Ajay Prakash
Date Submitted: March 31, 2015
Article Type: Discourse

In the Hindu epic “The Ramayana,” King Ram was banished for 14 years from his kingdom. My exile from the world of kites, and more specifically kite festivals, was a little shorter.

From 1987 to 2003 we enjoyed doing the Desert Kite Festival every year, barring one. From the palace of the Maharaja of Jodhpur, to the exquisite Taj Mahal, to the riotous frenzy of Makar Sankranti in Jaipur – we did it all year after year and we had a blast. The last Festival we did was in Goa in December 2004. But then we ran out of steam to chase sponsors and the Festival was becalmed.

But suddenly, in November 2014, the wind changed. I got a call from an old friend who I hadn’t heard from in over ten years. We met up and chatted for a long time, catching up on what each of us had been up to and then he sprung this surprise: he was back at his old company who had sponsored the last Desert Kite Festival way back in 2003, and they wanted me to organize one again. “Sure,” I said. “That would be great. Let’s shoot for early March.” But no, they wanted the Festival to be held to coincide with Makar Sankranti – less than two months away!

Page Number: 21
PDF Link: Discourse Issue 19