"mera patang maat ki jo"

this past weekend, i had the opportunity to fly a kite for the first time. and let me tell you, flying those bad boys takes some skill. my host was able to maneuver the kite to avoid getting tangled up with other kites or to cut down other people's kites with its glass-coated string. it all reminded me of that scene in the 'kite runner' where all the neighborhood kids were on their rooftops flying their kites. and it really was a beautiful scene on the rooftop. the kite festival had been two days ago, but there were still many people flying their kites. i was on one of the highest rooftops in the neighborhood, or so it seemed, and i could see families and little kids on the rooftops having a good time. it was a very colorful scene as well with clothes drying on the lines, the different colored rooftops, and the fort looming in the background.

this all happened in jaipur, which is about an 8-hr train ride from udaipur. i took an overnight train there and back, and it was quite a sleepless journey, or rather a sleepless trip overall. i literally slept about 5 hours total over a span of 52 hours. i don't know how i functioned when i came back, but i have to say the sleep i had last night was all well worth it.

i was determined to find an intact, used kite i could bring back home. but it was difficult to find one because people probably grabbed them off the street to fly them again. and many of the kites were stuck in trees after it had been cut down. but someone was nice enough to give me a kite that seemed to have been used already and i was happy with that. my friend told me to be careful because a kid had ripped his kite the day before and ran away laughing. so i was on guard every minute a kid came nearby. i also bought a kite for myself that i carried around with me through the old city, and everyone would point and say "....patang.....patang." several kids came up to me and said "my patang?" and i replied with, "nahi, mera patang hai. jaa-o!"

eventually i ended up giving away my kite to a small girl who was following me around begging for some money. she ran away smiling with a kite that was bigger than her body. i realized that one, this girl probably didn't have a kite of her own or even get a chance to fly a kite for the festival, and two, used kites had more character than new ones. used kites always end up at a different place from where they started. i already had the one that someone gave me and that was all i really needed. i had a kite that had been flown by someone who either wasn't paying attention when it got cut down or was no match against someone who had the skill of steering their kite the right away. and i was the lucky owner at the end of it all.

as always, it's nice to come back to udaipur where there are familiar faces and food stalls. at the same time, it's fun to always plan my next trip, wherever that maybe.