Before the ban on kite flying, basant had become a major annual event with hefty sponsorships and a great opportunity for corporate PR, with companies flying in their clients from near and far. There is no such basant fever in the air this year.
The festival is held to bid farewell to the winter and welcome the spring. Always a big event in Lahore, basant had also caught on in other parts of the country in recent years. The scene on basant day in Lahore is particularly exhilarating. There are thousands of brightly colored kites of all shapes and sizes up in the blue sky, with small kids, teenagers and adults tugging at the manja (chemical-coated string). There are shouts of ‘Bo Kata', when the strings of two kites rub against each other in what is called a ‘Pecha'. One kite comes fluttering down to the ground and kids run to capture it.
The kites are flown from rooftops, gardens, playfields, streets and any other open space available. People gather to enjoy the fun even if they do not fly a kite. At this time of the year the crop fields in the Punjab are carpeted with rich yellow mustard and this is the color that the women and girls - and even the young men - choose for their dresses. There is deafening noise all around - of fire crackers, bugles, victorious shouts and the rhythmic beat of the dhol. The Punjabis being people of healthy appetites treat themselves to especially delicious food to go with the hearty mood of the festival.
A ban was imposed on manufacturing, flying, selling and buying kites in 2005 when the sport started turning dangerous, resulting in the deaths of innocent people. Throats of many people, mainly children traveling on motorcycles, were slit from the highly sharpened strings used for flying kites, resulting in instant deaths in many cases. An innocent sport turned deadly for what? Just to cut another kite?
Winning at all costs had unfortunately become a most important matter amongst the kite flyers. The regular kite flyer had been replaced by a deadly breed. Deaths were also caused by people flying kites from dangerous and risky rooftops, some of which collapsed. Then there were children running on roads without any concern for their safety, trying to catch kites. Moreover, the use of wire for catching kites also resulted in frequent disruption of power supply during basant days.
Says lawyer Tafazzul Haider Rizvi: "I'm a Lahoriite and love to celebrate basant but over the years basant had changed from a simple sport and cultural event into an almost criminal activity. It had become dangerous for the common people, especially those on motorcycles... because of illegal dors (strings) coated with chemicals to sharpen them. Many children died and it is with a heavy heart I say that the Supreme Court did absolutely the right thing to ban it."
He is just one resident of Lahore from a majority who favor the ban on kite flying despite the fact that basant is not just any festival but a way of life for the Lahoriites as it symbolizes their fun loving, easygoing lifestyle which has also been adopted by other cities of Punjab. Thousands of people depend on the festival for their livelihood. They wait for this time of the year when they can make and sell strings and kites.
Actor Ghulam Mohyiuddin, who is also an avid kite flyer says: "Unfortunately, we as a nation tend to forget our social responsibilities and if we had continued flying kites without using the illegal dors as we used to do for many years without any controversy, this would not have happened."
Most people welcome the ban on kite flying but the die-hard still fly kites regardless.
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