AHMEDABAD:
Huddled over piles of colorful paper, Mohammad Yunus is one of thousands of workers in India’s western state of Gujarat who handcraft kites used during a major harvest festival.
People in Gujarat celebrate Uttarayan, a Hindu festival in mid-January that celebrates the end of winter by flying kites held by strings coated with glass or plastic.
“Kite may seem like a small thing, but it takes a lot of time to make. Many people are involved in it and their livelihood depends on it,” Yunus, a Muslim who comes to Gujarat from the neighboring state of Rajasthan to make kites during peak season, he told Reuters.
More than 130,000 people are engaged in kite-making across Gujarat, according to government estimates, many of whom work from home to make kites that cost as little as five rupees (US 6 cents).
At the start of the two-day festival, people rent rooftops and terraces from those who have access to them and gather there to fly colorful kites that criss-cross the sky.
Gujarat is a hub of the kite industry in the country, with a market worth 6.5 billion Indian rupees ($76.58 million), and the state accounts for about 65 percent of the total number of kites manufactured in India.
While the kite flying season in the state is limited to almost two or three days in January, the industry operates throughout the year providing employment to around 130,000 people in the state, according to government figures.
But these paper birds are also harmful and can be deadly, especially kites that have plastic strings, which can cause serious cuts to birds in the sky, killing and injuring thousands of them during the festival.
At least 18 people died from kite-flying injuries in Gujarat during this year’s Uttaraya festival, including being cut by a cord and electrocuted while trying to pull a kite from an electric pole, local media reported. Reuters
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