I got to experience yet another unique celebration here in Kolkata, the annual Kite Festival. The Kite Festival takes place to pay tribute to Sarasvati Puja, the goddess of learning/knowledge.
One this day, students/schools pay homage to Sarasvati with cultural performances and they also go to a near park to participate in kite competitions. All the kites we saw being flown were made out of bamboo sticks and tissue paper. The kids fly the kite with a thread that is coated with a thin line of glass. The whole point of the glass layer is to cut every other kite out of the sky. It sounds horrible but the kids consider this to be fun not revenge. The last kite flying is the winner. The park that we went to had several kids from different schools and we spoke with a representative from an NGO that advocates for street children. This particular NGO bought all the street children materials to make/fly their own kites too. Older street kids were also out to help the younger kids with their kites. It was nice to see everyone working together to help a flier with his/her kite.
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| This little boy with the hat was the winner in the kite competition, he cut down so many kites |
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