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14 January is celebrated in India as Makar Sankranti - heralding the transition of the sun into the Northern hemisphere. It is also a big kite day in most parts of India when children from 6 to 60 can be seen with their heads turned to the sky! In cities like Jaipur and Ahmedabad kites virtually blot out the sky. Everyone joins in this riotous celebration and shouts of " Woh Kata Hai !" reverberate from rooftops to the accompaniment of drums as adversaries' kites are cut down. And everyone's an adversary! Any kite in the sky is fair game ! But for 5 years now we've held the Desert Kite Festival every year to coincide with Makar Sankranti - safely. No one's lost a kite, yet!
However, for some time, we've been seriously considering turning this into a Festival that happens every two years instead of ever year. Originally we were to take a break on 2001 and do the 5th Festival in 2002. But then we got an invitation to fly at the Taj Mahal in Jan 2001 - and that was just too good to pass up. So, there will be no Desert Kite Festival in Jan 2002; we shall have the next one in Jan 2003 - that gives everybody enough time to plan (and save up!) and it also gives us a breather...
The 6th Festival, in Jan 2003 continues to offer the really exciting opportunity that we added on this year - a chance to fly at the glorious Taj Mahal !We fly in Jodhpur for two days - at the Polo Ground and the spectacular Umaid Bhawan Palace, the residence of the Maharaja of Jodhpur; then we go on to Jaipur to experience the incredible "Kite Frenzy" that grips this town on Makar Sankranti - millions of kites fill the sky and everyone seems to be caught up in the kite fever that takes over the city ! We then move on to Agra and fly at the Taj Mahal, one of the most beautiful monuments in the world. The Festival comprises 2 sections - the Fighter Kite Competition and Display Flying - with trophies in both categories.
We have also scheduled workshops, including one with school children. The evenings are full of banquets, revelry and gaiety - Rajasthan has some incredible folk artists and you have a chance to experience their fascinating dance and music in an intimate atmosphere.
Some of the finest fliers in the world have attended our Festivals.
If you're a kite freak you might recognise some of these names: Tal Streeter, George Peters, Melanie Walker, David Brittain, Scott Skinner, Ali Fujino ( U.S.A.), Nest Lernout, Frank Coenraets, Guy Van Acker (Belgium), Rene de Calonne (Holland) Peter Stauffer (Australia), Colin Mckay and Geraldine Lopdell (New Zealand), Ludo Petit, Philippe Revel, Yves Fedon, Karine Boitrelle, Francois and Jacqueline Gonnet, Anne and Laurent Nicole (Manjha Club International, France), Jean-Philippe Bequet, Nicolas Chorier, Jean- Mi chel Petit, Nicolas and Sylvain G rez , Christophe Cheret, Sylvie Perruche, Sarah Michal and F rederique Barbier (France), Werner Steinmetzer, Klaus Hoffman, Uwe Groll (Germany), Paul Thody, Martin Lester (England), Masami and Akiko Takakuwa (Japan), Alfred Lee and the Hong Kong Fighter Kite Club, Allan Lim (Singapore) and Babu Khan of India.
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