Six years old Tanjila Mahmood Moushumi was staring up into the sky with her eyes wide open, amused by the spectacle taking place in front of her. The sky she looked into was not her everyday sky: it has turned into a kaleidoscope of colours.
“What is this?” she asked her father, who was standing nearby, pointing to the multihued kites that were flying in all directions. She asked for one and, as soon as she was given, began to fly it in emulation of the hundreds of kite flyers scratted across the beach.
These people, sporting fancy clothes and trying to snag each other’s kites, were the highlight of the two-day National Kite Festival 2014 that began yesterday at the Laboni beach point in Cox’s Bazar.
Apart from the participants, there were many tourists who came from around the country to witness the fights of the kites.
One of them, Mohiuddin, who came with his daughter Moushumi, said: “Before the event began, my daughter was not in the best of her moods. But the festival changed the scenario.”
Bangladesh Kite Federation is organising the event with a view to promoting kite-flying as a sport and popularising Cox’s Bazar as a tourist destination.
Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu and Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jhun jointly inaugurated the event. They were accompanied by Cox’s Bazar 3 lawmaker Saimum Sarwar Kamal and several government high officials.
In this speech, Li jhun likened Chinese collaboration with the festival to a “new start” in the relations between Bangladesh and China. “It had been celebrated before, but today opens a new chapter in our bilateral relations.”
Hasanul Haque Inu said the event would uphold the traditional practice of kite flying. “These kites, coming in various shapes and designs, present a valuable source of entertainment for the spectators. But more than that, they help us revisit our childhood.”
BKF General Secretary Shahjahan Mridha Benu spoke in the same vein: “In our childhood, we used to fly kite but unfortunately its popularity is on the decline. Through this event, we are trying to revive this traditional sport which is at once easy to play and environment-friendly.”
Kites of various names were flown on the first day, including Pocket, Stunt, Dragon, Series, Train, Butterfly, Snake, Airplane, etc. In addition, lanterns were flown away in the evening.