ACROSS THE MILES

GIRLS DONT FLY KITES...

School has closed for the summer, all the school books and uniforms are put away never to be seen again. My brothers are in the backyard huddled together, through the spaces between them I see different colored tissue papers flying about, glue and thinly shaved Bamboo sticks, and Reels of thread. I know what this is all about and I want "in" on this party. I go outside and beg to be included but I am not .One of them says" dont touch anything, you can only watch and anyway Girls dont fly kites". I agree,but feeling disappointed I drag my feet to the washing stone which was a few feet away, resting my chin on my knees I watch my brothers put together this kite with as much precision as building a plane.

Most people are happy just making one kite but my brothers were driven to make the biggest, fastest and the best kite. There were little kites, big kites, fast kites and slow kites. Kites for high winds and kites for low winds and when there was no wind they just admired their creation.
The kite was made of tissue paper and had a central spine and a bow made of bamboo. Sometimes these bamboo sticks came in handy to my mother when punishment was in order.The difference in the kites lie in the patterns and colors used.There were simple geometric shapes and designs and circles of contrasting colors.The front was more beautiful than the back because it faced the worldand had to be the best. Final touches to the kite include eyes of silver or gold and anything else you may fancy. After a couple of agonizing hours the kite is ready and is set aside to dry.

Out comes the reels of white thread, but it is not enough to use just plain thread, something called Manjha had to be applied to the thread. one of my brothers was busy grinding the glass into powder while the other was mixing a concoction of ingredients which was a much guarded secret.This I learnt later on was to make the thread strong. The thread was dyed a beautiful orange and set out to dry. T he whole day has passed , my mother is calling us for dinner, my brothers make a quick stop at the bathroom to get clean, hide the bruises and stains on their hands and pretend that nothing special was happenning. I played along not wanting to fall out of grace with them.I wanted to fly a kite.

The next day I see my brothers looking up at the sky. Is it windy enough? is it going to rain? these thoughts race through my mind, hoping the latter would not occur because I just wanted to fly a kite. There is nothing more beautiful than looking up at the sky on a warm summer day and seeing the kites of different shapes and sizes. There were square, triangular and diamond shaped kites. Some with fishtails and some with no tails and some with tails that looked like colored spaghetti just floating in the wind. Down below the grass was green and the Mayflower tree provided the shade and a carpetful of orange colored flowers.

I ask if I can hold the reel, but my brother says no, you need a steady hand. From where I am sitting I can see the glass coated thread glistening in the sun and being released in sudden long and short spurts depending how high the kite was and where it was in location to the other kites. The goal was to cut the other kites and the last kite flying was the winner. There were the kite runners whose sole purpose was to scramble over rooftops and across fields to catch the falling kite. My brothers wanted no part of that, they just wanted to win.Suddenly I see my brother cut off two opponents and was seething with joy but seconds later his ego came spiralling down into the trees and electric wires.

The kite is very inexpensive made out of tissue and Bamboo but it transcends countries, cultures, religion and brings people together and also lends a competitive spirit. It holds a special place in my heart, to me it meant freedom to just fly away and explore the world and most of all to spend a nice summer day with my brothers. I am humbled when I look up at the limitless sky and am reminded that I am just an insignificant speck in the Universe.