Mini P S Nair, a radio jockey, became the first Indian woman to fly sports kites.Kites always let loose nostalgic memories. Mini P S Nair also cherished the days when she flew kites with her brother on the harvested fields near Kozhikode. The radio jockey gradually took off to be the first Indian woman to fly sports kites.
The twist happened at a kite flying festival in Goa. Nair was stumped by a 70-year-old participant from Russia. “Why can’t we see any Indian woman flying kites here?” Anna asked. Nair retraced her childhood to answer the challenge.
“My first memories of kite flying are from the harvested fields near my home. The boys led the activities during the summer vacations. I would accompany my brother and his friends. Somebody would let me hold the thread of a kite when I throw a tantrum. If I let the kite tangle on a tree branch, I would cry loudly so that someone bothers to climb on the tree to release the kite,” Nair recounts.
She learned to make kites from those childhood friends. Papers and sticks were the raw materials. “Making a kite requires a lot of plan like building houses or bridges. You miscalculate an inch and the kite is a dud,” she says.
“Colour kites were the superstars. We would collect colourful calendars from textile shops to make those kites. We would festoon the kite with paper strips or cassette reels. You attach toffee wrappers to the reels and you are the star of the day.”
The girl in petticoats forgot all about kites as she grew up. The fields were gradually reclaimed to build houses.
Nair completed her studies and became an English lecturer at the Mercy College at Vadakara. She then became a radio jockey and programming head in one of the radio stations in Kerala. The reconciliation with kites was yet to happen.
Mini went to the first kite flying festival in Gujarat with the all-woman team two years ago. The past soars
Nair was pleasantly surprised when she watched the kites soaring to the setting sun on the Kappad beach. They were nothing like her paper kites. The participants of the International Kite Festival had come with kites in all hues and shapes.
Nair and her son Anandapadmanabhan watched in awe. Kites that inflated into wonderful shapes with a gust of wind, kites that enchanted the skies.
The beautiful day’s memories faded too. Nair was busy with her work schedule when Abdulla walked into the radio station. Abdulla and the other members of the One India Kite Team in Kozhikode were doing a programme on a kite flying event on the Kozhikode beach. That contact became Nair’s reentry to the world of kites.
Abdulla added Nair to a WhatsApp group of kite flying enthusiasts. As the lone woman in the group, she realised that kite flying was no child’s play. “That is when I realised that kite flying was a science. Some kites cost about Rs 1 lakh. They were made with bamboo and wire. They had festoons of satin cloth. It was a wonderland. Still there was no woman who flew a kite. May be they did not want to endure the sun on the beach. With One India Kite Team, I started thinking about a women’s team for kite flying. That is how ‘Incredible India’ happened.”
Nair went to the first kite flying festival in Gujarat with the all-woman team two years ago. “That was my first travel outside Kerala. So you could guess my excitement. The festival was in Ahmedabad. There were kite flyers from 30 countries. We were the only team in uniform. That was a thrilling experience. It was like taking part in the Olympics. We got the kite excellence award there.”
Wind in her sails
“The wind has the last word. We would fly kites from the morning if it is a windy day. Otherwise we would be disappointed. At night, we would fly kites fitted with LED lights. Many people think that this is a kite flying competition. This is not a competition and there is no cup to win. Just taking part in the event is recognition enough,” Nair said.
Each country team would have put up their own stalls on the festival ground. Some people sell kites. Some of them are priced about Rs 1 lakh.
“Your conventional concepts about kites would go for a toss on this ground. Kites come in all shapes. I also noticed that some people had feathers on their caps. They are the mementos from previous events,” said Nair, pointing to her own feathers.
The journey to Ahmedabad gave Nair a sense of direction. She quit her job with the FM station to start a female fitness centre called ‘Kreeda’ at Vadakara. Then she decided to learn how to make kites.
“You can be autonomous in this area only when you master the art of kite making. I met Rajesh Nair in Kochi and ventured into kite flying. I first made a kite that cost Rs 7,000. It took me two weeks. Then I formed a kite club named after Kreeda,” she added.
She flew her first kite in a kite festival in Goa. “I went to Goa along with my son. There were only three women for the event. The commitment shown by foreigners to the sport is amazing. Kite flying is a way of life for them. They would do it once a day at least.”
The Kerala experience
Kerala has a lot of opportunities for kite enthusiasts, Nair said. “We have vast beaches. You can fly kites for a reward, as a promotional activity for a product or an establishment. In foreign countries, kite flying is considered as advertisements. We could try that in Kerala,” she said.
She said that she could not attend the kite flying festival in China because of her hectic business schedule. “I have to go this time. That is a dream. I conduct workshops to popularise kite flying among children.”
Nair can expect her son Anandapadmanabhan and mother Padmini to give her company on her kite flying adventures.
She can remember several curious incidents from her travels. “Once when I was on the Sandbank beach at Vadakara, I was thronged by curious onlookers. They flooded me with questions that ranged from her motive to the nature of the kite. When the kite flew into the air, they were all enamoured.”
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