Babar Ali Malek RIYADH — Reliving the South Asian tradition of kite flying to mark the advent of spring in the region, members of the Asian community along with Egyptians, Saudis and Europeans celebrated the Jashn-e-Baharan or Basant Festival on Friday in Riyadh. This annual edition of kite flying competition, which sees two inherent qualities in the kite flyer — one, the person able to soar to the maximum without being cut and a mock dogfight in which kites are used as planes to shoot down the other flyer, is held in Riyadh, and this year it was organized at the Exit 18 Sulai Fozan Industrial area ground. Many well known personalities including Sultan Nasir Al Nammshan and Abdul Rahman Oufi attended as chief guests in this glorious and colorful event. This festival is recognized by the beautiful array of kites flying in the sky, providing colorful moving flecks in a vast canvass of sky blue. Unlike in the famous book Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni, there is nobody designated to pick the kites that have either been cut by an opposing kite or just broke away, losing the battle with the winds. The event started at 6:00 a.m. and ended around 6:00 p.m. where the competition peaked around 3:00 p.m., according to Haji Mohammed Adeeb, organizer of the Basant Festival. More and more people joined in with the passing hour for the “Patang Baazi” sport. Mohammed Azeem Chaudary, Vice Captain of Riyadh Kite Club, arranged breakfast for around 700 people and lunch for around 1,200 people. The sumptuous fare included tikka, kabab and barbeque. The special match between Riyadh Kite Club, led by Adeeb Zahid Chaudary and Shafiq Samiullah and Dammam Kite Club, led by Mohammed Sultan and Mohammed Fawad, was truly enjoyable. Azeem also explained the kites were flown on strings called “Dorr” which has the ability to cut threads of competitors. When the other kites are cut by a competitor, the chants of “Aai Bo Kata, Wo Kata” rang throughout the ground. Price for the kites started from SR10 for 1-1/2sq. m and SR15 for 2-1/2 sq. m. Prices differ for different shapes and sizes. More than a thousand spectators and visitors celebrated the festival with some visitors coming from Jeddah, Dammam, Bahrain and Dubai. – SG
