Lucknow and its connection with Patangbaji

              Lucknow and its connection with Patangbaji

It is a known fact that the Jaipur's Amer fort has gained worldwide recognition for its architecture and history over a period of time. The massive palace attracts lakhs of visitors every year who are enamored by its beauty. Be it, a local tourist or a foreign visitor in Jaipur, his/her city tour would be incomplete without paying a visit to this fort. After being a deserted place for a long time during the COVID lockdown, Amer fort is back in its element and is being flocked by hordes of visitors once again.

"In the good old days, kite flying was an addiction. Alas, no longer now," he says, complaining about video games, mobile phones, and computers which turn children into couch potatoes.

This kite was changed into an aerodynamically sound, lighter version called the Pauntawa, (made with a 'pauna' or 3/4th sheet of paper) which has been the standard ever since. It is the Pauntawa that is used by professional kite flyers to this day.

The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is the nation's highest civilian honor bestowed upon exceptional achievers under the age of 18. This year 32 students from all corners of the country were awarded the prize for their outstanding achievements and exceptional abilities. 4 out of these 32 students, viz. Anand Kumar, Anuj Jain, Anvesh Pradhan, and Archit Patil hail from the state of Rajasthan.

Patang, Jamghat aur Lucknow Churayya, Tikalla, Hatta, Dheel, Pench, Bharra, Latka, Charkhi, etc are some of the popular terms of Patangbazi which are also associated with life in form of various Muhawaras. Kite flying or Patangbazi has been a common pastime activity in Lucknow for ages. Especially in the old city like Chowk, Nakhas, Chaupatiya, Talkatora, Raja Bazar, Daliganj, etc the prevalence of this pass time is an integral part of life. You would often hear stories from people about their patangbazi experience, mostly near gomti, their rooftop, or even on holidays. Jamghat is the day after Diwali where people celebrate the annual kite festival in Lucknow, it is believed to be started from the Nawabi period. Jamghat is a festival that maintains social relationships and harmony in the city. The participation of both Hindus and Muslims with great happiness exhibits the essence of the city. It often gives the illusion of a spectrum in the sky. One could see hundreds of kites in varieties of shape and color floating in the air. The spread of the festival can be noticed from the varying cost of kites, it ranges from Rs. 4 to 60 and over. This season some new kites like Chota Bheem, Spiderman, Obama, Anna and Chinese Kites are in great demand with children. There are also around 45 kite flying clubs in the city. It is believed ever since the Nawabi era, great care is taken in the construction of kite. It was composed of two ‘tukkals’, paper kites, joined together back and front. A batten was fixed to the centre of the frame and was called a ‘thaddi’, black stick, and two curved battens, scraped and softened, were fixed to the top and bottom of the frame and called ‘kamps’ or bows. Later the best form of tukkal was known as patang. One may judge the interest taken in Lucknow from the Nawabi time; it was the time of innovation. Nawab Asaf ud Daula’s tukkals were decorated with gold and silver fringes. Whoever brought one of the Nawab’s tukkal back was given five rupees. In the time of Amjad Ali Shah a paper kite named guddi was invented. In Wajid Ali Shah’s time kites were produced with one and a half bows and back stick, which were quite similar to today’s kites. There were some experts during the same time like Mir Vilayat Ali, who was known world widely for kite flying. At the commencement of the British period ‘kheench’, the dragging and pulling style of kite, was established. Some popular forms of kite that are made in Lucknow are; kankawwa is made with full sheet of paper in the form of wings of a bird, pauntava is made from a part of sheet and is most preferred by experts, addhi are kites made from half a sheet, chichi are small kites made of spine of about 6-8inches. Some others are aadi pauntai, taukhiya, dugga, gend tara, chand tara, sawa ki teen, latka, dheel, commander, bangdai,  Chinese kites made of plastic, dedh kanni, tukkal etc. Main equipments for flying a kite include saddi, manjha, reel, toon, taar, phirki and charkhi. Making a kite requires great accuracy and care; it’s an art in itself.  People often associate the coming of Huien Tsand and Fa Hein, travelers from China who introduced kite in the country. Today in Lucknow there are scores of people who have frittered away lacks of rupees on this pursuit and have achieved prominence and revered in the kite flying circles….after all it's all about ‘Pench-Ladana’ !