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Shakrain, an occasion with a long-rooted tradition of the old part of Bangladesh’s capital, gets its massive popularity among Dhakaits thanks to the colourful kite flying festival.
The kite festival traditionally held at the end of Poush, the ninth month of the Bengali calendar, has once again brought the whole of Dhaka together for a celebration that one could miss at one’s own risk.
The day is also known as “Makar Sangkranti” in Bangladesh as well as in India and Nepal. Makar is the Bengali translation of the word Capricorn. Meanwhile, the word “Sankranti” signifies the movement of the sun from one zodiac sign to another.
As Makar Sankranti is one of the oldest solstice festivals and falls on the equinox, day and night on this day are believed to be equally long. After that, the days become longer, and nights shorter.
So this particular festival actually signifies a day that marks a major change in the solar system. This was especially important in the subcontinent where agricultural yields heavily depend on the changes in the solar system.
People of all ages, from all parts of the capital, on Saturday will gather at Gandaria, Shankhari Bazar and Luxmibazar, the oldest parts of the city to experience an event that is unlike any other.
Despite the dense fog, the festivities started early in the morning and the locals took to the rooftops of almost every building in the city and started flying kites while others were seen busy preparing and setting up music and lighting systems for the evening party.
Ahead of the festival, several makeshift shops set up marking the festival and started selling kites and other materials (kites, twine, threads) in Old Dhaka’s Shankhari Bazar.
The presence of buyers including people of all ages rushed to market to collect the best and most lucrative items to celebrate the occasion.
While talking to this correspondent on Thursday morning, several traders in the old part of the city said that around one to one and a half lakh kites have been sold marking the Sakrain. The market is over Tk one crore.
Common kites are being sold for Tk 8 to Tk 25. Specially designed kites are being sold for Tk 150 to Tk 350. Moreover, there are some imported kites which are being sold for over Tk 600.
The names of the kites are also special. Some of them are called “Chashmadar”, “Kautadar”, “Pankhiraj”, “Projapati”, “Chakhhudar”, “Eagle”, “White Kite”, “Char Boa”, “Dui Boa”, “Tekka”, “Love Kite”, “Tin Tekka” and “Angry Birds.”
Special natais (kite reels) are used to fly kites. Some of the names are “Batiwala”, “Mukhbandha”, “Iron Natai,” etc. But the most famous among those are “Wooden Natai” which are sold for around Tk 150 to Tk 800.
Different types of kite flying yarn including “dragon yarn”, “ghost yarn”, “Bilai Yarn” are being sold at Tk 150 to Tk 500.
Shankhari Bazar’s Nikhil Chandra said, “Our sales have gained momentum ahead of Shakrain. Buyers from different parts of Dhaka come here to buy kites. We have 8 to 10 types of kites in our store. Along with kites, we also sell natais and yarns.”
Sumona Trader Titus Das said, “My shop is a small one. Young people come here and sales are going fairly well.”
Kamrul and his friend Salman came to Shankhari Bazar from the Lalbagh area of Old Dhaka to buy kites and accessories. Both are students of the ninth standard. They said that every year they come to this market to buy kites and accessories as all items are fairly cheap here.
“All kinds of kites are available here,” they added.
Sunil Saha along with his 10-year-old son Sushanta came to this market from the Rayerbazar area to buy kites.
He said, “In a young age we used to fly kites for over two months in the winter season. Now it’s time for our kids… So I came with my kid to buy kites. Seeing their kite flying, we also remember that golden past.”
According to locals, with time, the festival has adapted new features. A lot has changed during these years. Initially, Shakrain was all about sharing the joy of flying kites in the Poush air and enjoying the delightful tastes of winter pithas with near and dear ones.
However, for the last couple of years, lesser light shows with loudspeakers, and young adults and children celebrate the festival.
Sixty-year-old Haji Dilgani of Hazaribagh said, “Kite- flying happens, but not on the same scale as before. Practicing kite-flying would start at least one month prior to the event. If anyone could time travel to this place 15 years ago, he would enjoy more flying kites than birds. A minimum of eight to ten kites could be seen being flown from each building. That pretty much explains how massive it was.”
In the past, throughout the day, people of different ages and genders would either fly kites, or enjoy watching them being flown, in the sky. “Right before sunset, people would start lighting up lanterns and fireworks. The festival would end with the Maghrib Azaan” he added.
Aside from kite flying, during the night on Shakrain day, colourful floating paper lanterns (fanoosh), fire breathers and thousands of fireworks from old Dhaka rooftops enchant people of all ages. Also, there are laser lighting, music, and dance parties arranged by the young people of the community.
Currently, everything from kites, threads, kite reels and lanterns are available in the market. Many local groups like Kiterz, Dholai Khal etc arrange flamboyant programs throughout the day, adding other features like music, DJ and fire breathing. The activities on the roofs are mostly taken in by males.
Shamima Binte Rahman, a student of a private university residing in Azimpur said, “Women usually take part in kite flying ceremonies, but very few.” However, many young women work with different Shakrain-based groups to arrange the entire program, but not on a big scale, she added.
Inside the homes, women plan how to make different arrangements. One of the biggest roles of the women was providing rice starch to make the threads to fly the kites.
