Kite Flying
HISTORY OF KITES
The earliest written account of kite flying is in China in 200 BC, supporting China’s claim to the origin of the kite. The Chinese General Han Hsin of the Han Dynasty flew a kite over the walls of a city he was attacking to measure how far his army would have to tunnel to reach past the defenses.
A kite flying event was an unofficial sport at 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, held as part of the ballooning event. The often reported strong gust of wind that blew most of the competitors’ kites in to a tree is probably just myth. The 1900 Olympic Games Official Report (in French) gives many details of the competition.
The report from the games mentions two different competitions, one for altitude and another based on several factors. The competition for altitude was held over a one hour period, the winner was the kite with the highest altitude (as verified by instruments recorders attached to the kite). The other competition category required the kite to remain in the air for two hours with 200 meters of cable. The ranking was done by measuring the angle of the line from the kite to the point attachment with the horizontal, the bearing surface, the cable tension dynamometer, and appreciating the stability of the kite.
Originally just two categories in the kite competition was planned, however due to the large number of competitors who came with a large range of kites, the Organizing Committee decided to split the competition into three categories – small, medium and large kites. The small kites were mostly toys flown by children, and the prizes were reduced accordingly to a single bronze medal and to small rewards of 20, 10 and 5 francs.
The competition for the small kites was held on the 19th August 1900. Due to lack of adequate winds, the events for larger kites were postponed. The medium kite competition was held on September 27, and the large kite competition was on the 30th September.
Basant Kite Flying
The people in Pakistan celebrate the Basant Kite Flying Festival with great pomp and show. The celebration takes place in the spring season. The beauty of the nature in the spring season adds to the festival it is a celebration of the starting of the season that is celebrated by flying colorful kites in the sky. The kites are of different size and shapes, some of them also carry special messages that are written to God. People write their wishes, prayers and also regards to their God on the kite and make it fly high in the sky. Festival of Basant kite flying is actually a Hindu festival that the people of the Punjab province started celebrating but as the days passed-on the festival became common among the people of the country and now it is a festival that the country celebrates every year.
The Basant Kite Flying Festival in Pakistan is celebrated in Lahore where a huge crowd including men, women and young people of all ages participate and there are various activities other than the Kite flying competitions take place. There are many things to shop for, various food items to taste, especially the Hindu and Pakistani food preparations. The sweet-dishes are the main attraction of the festival that is really enjoyed by the tourists of foreign countries. Basant Kite Flying Festival is an enjoyable experience for the people of the country as well as the foreigners.