City residents all set to celebrate Lohri with colourful kites

City residents are known for celebrating festivals in style and Lohri is no exception. One thing that Lohri cannot be celebrated without is kites and city markets are full of kites of different sizes and shapes.

Daresi is known for the biggest wholesale market of kites and dor (thread) using traditional method is also prepared here. A kite lover’s Lohri is incomplete without a visit to the Daresi market. In addition to Daresi, kites are available at Kailash Cinema Road, Field Gunj, Ghumar Mandi, near Division Number 3, Upkar Nagar, BRS Nagar, Model Town, etc.

Colourful kites in different shapes with amusing and interesting messages are being sold in the market. Kites made with butter paper are a hit this year while Chajj, Pari, gudda remain the common ones and continue to dominate the kite flyers. Meanwhile, kites in shapes of owl, butterfly, bird, octopus, rocket, star, diamond, snake, diya and dragon have also been seen in city markets, which managed to catch the eye of young kite flyers.

Then there were huge kites with a long tail, known as Machh, Sapp and delta. Tukkal kite, popular in Pakistan and north-west India, is burdened by three bows and is less aerodynamic. Pakistani Tukkal is in great demand for Lohri. Then there is one more kite that is made of a special material and despite crushing and crumbling, it won’t get torn.

Kites with pictures of film stars, cartoons, politicians and flags of countries, especially Canada, are also being sold in markets. Kites with picture of slain singer Sidhu Moosewala with his younger brother is also a hit. Some kites having pictures of both brothers has a slogan: ‘I am back’. Kites with Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh’s popular slogan ‘Punjabi aa gaye ooye’ is also being sold like hot cakes. Kites with messages like ‘Happy New Year 2025’ and Happy Lohri’ are also available.

Ravi Kumar, a kite seller at the Civil Lines, said besides ready-made kites, people are also getting kites customised with slogans of their choice. “Such kites are ordered by those who are organising lohri functions or melas. Mini kites for decoration are also in demand,” he said.

The price range of kites start from Rs 10 and can go up to Rs 1,000, depending upon their size and shape. A shopkeeper from Daresi said prices of kites had increased by 20 per cent this year. The tilla, which is fixed in the kite, has become costlier due to rainfall in UP.

Sanjay, who runs a wholesale shop near Books Market, said he had bought kites from Rampur in UP, which were best in quality. “Price of a bundle of 100 kites starts from Rs 200 and quality was also good,” he said.

Gagan, a resident of Kila Mohalla, said the kite season was finally here. “Lohri, Republic Day and Basant Panchami are incomplete without kites and the whole one month, we will enjoy flying kites whenever we get time during these celebrations,” he said.

Meanwhile, the traditional kite string is being prepared by artists at Daresi Ground.

“The sale of China string has affected the manufacturing of traditional kite thread. The China dor is harmful and people should avoid buying the same. A few years ago, there was a demand for cotton string made by hand with materials such as glass powder and glue. Now, it is replaced by the China string,” said a kite string maker.