A Beginner's Guide To Patangbazi
Kite flying, that is.
Growing up in Lucknow ensures that one could never have less of kites in one's life, especially so, if the residence happens to be in the walled city. One may not actually fly it, but shouts of 'Woh Kata !!' never seem to fade. I, for one, was a flier, though not a terrific one at that. Still, I could hold on to my own, and had my moments. I did my bit during my early teens, when life was devoid of all those earthly cares.
Unlike other parts of country, where kite flying is at it's peak on Makara Sakranti, in Lucknow the THE day of kite flying is the next day of Diwali called 'Jamghat' (meaning Gathering). It's a Nawabi tradition. I use to collect the kites(Patang) whole year for the day. In fact, I used to be more excited for Jamghat than Diwali.
The seasoned pros used to have 'Baday'(meaning Betting). Baday involved 'Payntch Ladana' i.e. running ones kite into another, while trying to cut the thread holding the other kite. A successful attempt emanates the shout of 'Woh Kata' from excited watchers.
After several such Payntch, the guy whose kite does not gets cut till the end of day, eventually himself snaps the thread near his hand to indicate that Baday is over and he has won the day. Such Baday could be seen in every neigbourhood of the city.
Of course, there were no such Baday for me. In fact, I use to avoid Payntch as well. First because I was not very good at them, and the other fact was I used to hate loosing my much cherished treasure. I was content to keep the kite flying, staying clear of the prowlers. This not to say that I was afraid. If anyone was too adventurous and hell bent on putting up kite fight, the Rajput in me used to get aroused. The result usually used to be 50-50. Otherwise, my policy was Jiyo Aur Jeeney Do.
The threads were also no ordinary one. Basically of two types, the sharper one is called 'Manjha', while softer one is 'Saddi'. Manjha(it contains fine glass pieces), would be tied in front, as it is the one which usually takes part in a duel, while Saddi the one near the hands.
Manjha is not directly connected to bamboo stick of the kite, called 'Thaddey'. First, a V-shaped thread called 'Kanney' is attached to bamboo. Then Manjha is tied to Kanney, and finally Saddi. To fly high, one may need a lot of thread, so it's rolled nicely over cylindrical 'Charkhi'. This Charkhi along with thread used to then cost around 150 bucks, while now it has reached as high as 2000 bucks. That's an indicator enough to show the rate of inflation these days.
Meanwhile, the Patang is ready for it's flight, and all it needs is a 'Chhudaiyya' from a fellow flier. Before long, one will again hear 'Woh Kata!!'.
Growing up in Lucknow ensures that one could never have less of kites in one's life, especially so, if the residence happens to be in the walled city. One may not actually fly it, but shouts of 'Woh Kata !!' never seem to fade. I, for one, was a flier, though not a terrific one at that. Still, I could hold on to my own, and had my moments. I did my bit during my early teens, when life was devoid of all those earthly cares.
Unlike other parts of country, where kite flying is at it's peak on Makara Sakranti, in Lucknow the THE day of kite flying is the next day of Diwali called 'Jamghat' (meaning Gathering). It's a Nawabi tradition. I use to collect the kites(Patang) whole year for the day. In fact, I used to be more excited for Jamghat than Diwali.
The seasoned pros used to have 'Baday'(meaning Betting). Baday involved 'Payntch Ladana' i.e. running ones kite into another, while trying to cut the thread holding the other kite. A successful attempt emanates the shout of 'Woh Kata' from excited watchers.
After several such Payntch, the guy whose kite does not gets cut till the end of day, eventually himself snaps the thread near his hand to indicate that Baday is over and he has won the day. Such Baday could be seen in every neigbourhood of the city.
Of course, there were no such Baday for me. In fact, I use to avoid Payntch as well. First because I was not very good at them, and the other fact was I used to hate loosing my much cherished treasure. I was content to keep the kite flying, staying clear of the prowlers. This not to say that I was afraid. If anyone was too adventurous and hell bent on putting up kite fight, the Rajput in me used to get aroused. The result usually used to be 50-50. Otherwise, my policy was Jiyo Aur Jeeney Do.
The threads were also no ordinary one. Basically of two types, the sharper one is called 'Manjha', while softer one is 'Saddi'. Manjha(it contains fine glass pieces), would be tied in front, as it is the one which usually takes part in a duel, while Saddi the one near the hands.
Manjha is not directly connected to bamboo stick of the kite, called 'Thaddey'. First, a V-shaped thread called 'Kanney' is attached to bamboo. Then Manjha is tied to Kanney, and finally Saddi. To fly high, one may need a lot of thread, so it's rolled nicely over cylindrical 'Charkhi'. This Charkhi along with thread used to then cost around 150 bucks, while now it has reached as high as 2000 bucks. That's an indicator enough to show the rate of inflation these days.
Meanwhile, the Patang is ready for it's flight, and all it needs is a 'Chhudaiyya' from a fellow flier. Before long, one will again hear 'Woh Kata!!'.
posted by Unknown at 9:45 AM
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