Battles in the Bali sky - The Nation
In order to cope with other people's kites, we would sharpen our string so it would be easier to sever those of our opponents'.
Every time a kite lost a battle, cut off and falling down, we would run wildly chasing it, similar to the scenes portrayed in Khaled Hosseini's acclaimed novel, "The Kite Runner".
Those memories were floating around my mind when I attended last month's Kite Festival at Padang Galak beach in Sanur, Bali so perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised that the venue resembled a war zone.
Around 1,121 kites participated in the three-day event there with each of them requiring more than 10 men to make them fly.
So many men are required because the variety of kites, including traditional Balinese designs, are huge, some more than 15 metres long
When 30 kites were flown simultaneously in one session, the situation became chaotic, as hundreds of men tugged the strings on the vast dried out rice fields just 20 metres from the beach.
Banners bearing the names and logos of each group were hoisted in the venue, some of them representing their hamlets, and others representing a single family or group of kite enthusiasts.
The festival itself is a competition judged by a jury and the participants are divided into several sessions based on their kite's type.
The common types of traditional Balinese kites are called the janggan (bird or dragon shape), bebean (fish-like shape) and the pecukan (eye-shaped kite).
"I'm with the Puri family," said Agung proudly as he waited to fly his big bebean kite.
"The score for each kite is judged from the way they climb up to the sky, the sound they make, how they sway around in the wind, and also how unified the group is during the flying session," he added.
With as many as 20 kites flying during each session of the competition. some of them were bound to crash or get tangled up with each other, causing them to fall. Others also crashed because they lacked stability.
The commentator was quick to warn spectators to stay well clear of these mammoths made from sturdy wood and bamboo.
"Please, keep your attention on the sky; and watch out for falling kites," he cautioned repeatedly, no doubt recalling the tragedy last year when an eight-year-old boy died after being hit by a kite.
Power lines around the area were cut off from the grid to avoid any damage or electrocution from tangled kite strings.
The men flying their kites did they best to keep them airborne, running, pulling the rope and jumping over gutters..
Kite-flying is an important part of Balinese culture - especially for young people - and the festival is the main proving-ground for them to display their skills.
With such pride at stake, some showing off is inevitable and fights are common.
If you go
_ The annual Bali Kite Festival usually takes place in July around Padang Galak beach.
_ Thai Airways International and AirAsia operate direct flights between Bangkok and Bali.
www.nationmultimedia. com/travel/Battles-in-the-Bali-sky-30213060.html
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