Artistry In The Air -- Kite Flying
In Afghanistan
By Grant Podelco
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Kite flying is more than a pastime in Afghanistan -- it
is a national obsession. The streets of the capital,
Kabul, are filled with shops selling kite-flying
equipment, and the skies above the city are decorated
each day with hundreds of colourful kites fluttering in
the wind. Banned by the Taliban as un-Islamic, kite
flying has now hit new heights of popularity in the
country.
Kabul, 15 November 2002 (RFE/RL) -- It is a sunny day in
Kabul, and the fighting is fierce.
This is a battle for control of the skies above the old
city -- not between flying machines made of metal and
rivets, but between delicate airborne art constructed
from paper and string.
Afghans have elevated kite flying -- or "gudiparan
bazi" -- to an art form, and one of its chief
attractions is kite fighting.
To the first-time visitor, the skies above Kabul appear
to be filled with fluttering birds or pieces of paper
caught in the wind. A closer look reveals hundreds of
brightly colored kites soaring high into the air.
The Taliban regime banned hobbies such as kite flying and
bird keeping, in the belief that such pastimes were
un-Islamic.
Karim is 12 years old and is helping his friend Muhasel
fly a kite. He recalls what the Taliban would do if they
caught someone flying a kite.
"During the Taliban, kite flying was not allowed. If
you flew a kite, [the Taliban] would beat you and would
break the spool and tear the kite up. Even if you had a
pigeon in your hand, or any other birds, they would beat
you and make it go free."
The fall of the Taliban in the capital one year ago (13
November), however, meant that Afghans could again fly
kites without fear of punishment. Many Afghans have
returned to the pastime with a vengeance.
Kite flying is a two-person affair. One person, the
"charka gir," holds the wooden spool around
which the wire, or "tar," is wound. The second
person -- called the "gudiparan baz," or kite
flyer -- actually controls the movement of the kite in
the air.
In Afghanistan, wherever there are kites, there is kite
fighting. During the fight, or "jang," two
kites are flown close to one another, often at great
heights. The object is to use the wire of your kite to
cut the wire of your opponent's kite and set it free.
Twenty-five-year-old Muhasel stands on the shaky roof of
his small videocassette shop in south-eastern Kabul,
engaged in a kite fight with an unseen opponent elsewhere
in the neighbourhood. He explains what appeals to him
about gudiparan bazi.
"I enjoy [flying kites] because I'm interested in
it. When I see people are flying kites, then I buy a kite
to fly and fight with the other kites. I enjoy it very
much if my kite can cut off the other kite and make it go
free. But if my kite gets cut free, then I buy another to
fight with. If, for example, during the kite fighting I'm
running out of wire, then there is nothing else to do but
to cut the wire off the spool and let it go free in order
to beat my opponent. And he, too, has to let his wire go
until his kite goes free."
Everything in Afghan kite fighting depends on the quality
of the wire and how it is prepared. First, glass is
finely ground and combined with an adhesive mixture to
make a thick paste. The wire is then coated with this
paste to make it strong and sharp. After it is dry, the
wire is wound around the
spool. Kite fighters often wrap a piece of leather around
their fingers to protect themselves from the taut wire,
which can cut to the bone.
When an opponent's kite is cut free, it flutters like a
colorful, dying bird into the far reaches of the city.
Such kites are said to be "azadi rawest," or
"free and legal," and can be retrieved by neighbourhood children to fly another day. Each
neighbourhood crowns its own "sharti," or
kite-fighting champion.
Kabul is filled with shops selling all manner of kite
paraphernalia. Twenty-six-year-old Jawid runs  such a shop in the Shur Bazaar, the kite-selling
market in old Kabul.
"People have been flying kites [in Afghanistan] for
more than 100 years. We sell and buy from 500 to 2,000
kites every day in our shop. Long ago, kite flying was
part of our national games, and my father won a trophy 25
years ago during [former Afghan President Mohammad] Daud
Khan's time."
Jawid gives a tour of his shop, pointing out the spools,
the various lengths of wire, and the bright kites
themselves, in many different sizes, or
"parcha."
"This is a spool. Those are smaller ones for kids --
about 100 [meters] up to 500 meters in length. Those are
4,000- to 5,000-meter spools that are used by adults.
These are for kids. These are different kites. For
example, this is four parcha [having four parts]. There
is five parcha. And that
is seven parcha. That is half parcha (one of the
smallest). That is farfara, which is made of plastic. And
that is eight parcha (the largest)."
The kites cost from 2,000 afghanis -- just a few cents --
for tiny children's kites no bigger than a magazine, to
100,000 afghanis -- less than $2 -- for large kites
usually handled only by the most experienced flyers.
"During the Taliban, we were doing our business
here, but if they found out, they would come and destroy
our kites, spools, and other stuff, as they did many
times. They burned our kites and other stuff, asking who
the owner was. But we could not say anything, because if
they knew, they would
imprison us in Amribelmaroof [prison]."
Winter is one of the most popular times for kite flying
in Afghanistan. The winds are strong, and schools are
closed because of the cold weather.
While it brings mostly smiles, kite flying is also
dangerous. Many people are injured when they fall from
roofs chasing free kites or when they lose concentration
during a heated battle.
Thirty-six-year-old Sharif is flying a kite beside the
dry, trash-filled bed of the Kabul River in central
Kabul. He says he's been flying kites for about 20 years,
always on Fridays.
Sharif recalls the glory days of kite flying in Kabul.
"Before the Taliban, people used to fly kites in a
place called Chaman-i-Babrak[in northern Kabul], and kite
flying competitions were held there. Kids, young people,
and older people from all over Afghanistan and Kabul City
would gather there. They used to lay wagers on fighting
kites."
Sharif smiles. He wants to get back to his kite flying.
There is a battle
to be won.
Have you ever
wanted to build a kite? Well, here is a simple kite you
can make your self!
Kite consists of these basic parts:
The Spine. The up-and-down, or vertical stick that
you build your kite around.
The Spar. The support stick(s), that are placed
crossways or at a slant over the spine. Sometimes they
are curved or bowed.
The Frame. The joined spine and spars, usually
with a string connecting their ends, that form the shape
of the kite and make a support for the cover.
The Cover. The paper, plastic, or cloth, that
cover the frame to make a kite.
The Bridle. One or more strings attached to the
spine or spars, which help control the kite in the air.
The Flying Line. The string running from the
kites’ bridle, where you hold to fly the kite.
The Tail. A long strip of paper or plastic of
ribbon that helps to balance the kite in flight. Not all
kites need tails.
The Reel. The object you use to wind your flying
line, to keep it form getting tangled or flying away.
 DIAMOND KITE
Materials:
butcher cord or thin garden twine scotch tape or glue 1
sheet of strong paper (102cm x 102cm) 2 strong, straight
wooden sticks of bamboo or wooden doweling 90cm and 102cm
markers, paint or crayons to decorate you kite.
1. Make a cross with the two sticks, with the shorter
stick placed horizontally across the longer stick. Make
sure that both sides of the cross piece is equal in
width.
2. Tie the two sticks together with the string in such
a way as to make sure that they are at right angles to
each other. A good way to ensure that the joint is strong
to put a dab of glue to stick it in place.
3. Cut a notch at each end of both sticks. Make it
deep enough for the type of string you are using to fit
in to. Cut a piece of string long enough to stretch all
around the kite frame. Make a loop in the top notch and
fasten it by wrapping the string around the stick.
Stretch the string through the notch at one end of the
cross-piece, and make another loop at the bottom. Stretch
the string through the notch at one end of the loop at
the bottom. Stretch the string through the notch at the
other end of the cross-piece. Finish by wrapping the
string a few times around the top of the stick and
cutting off what you don't need. This string frame must
be taut, but not so tight as to warp the sticks.
4. Lay the sail material flat and place the stick
frame face down on top. Cut around it, leaving about
2-3cm for a margin. Fold these edges over the string
frame and tape or glue it down so that the material is
tight.
 
5. Cut a piece of string about 122 cm long. and tie
one end to the loop at the other end of the string to the
loop at the bottom. Tie another small loop in the string
just above the intersection of the two cross pieces. This
will be the kite's bridle, the string to which the flying
line is attached.
6. Make a tail by tying a small ribbon roughly every
10cm along the length of string. Attach the tail to the
loop at the bottom of the kite.
7. Decorate!
Tips:
A properly located pivot point is generally located
slightly ahead of the centre of gravity. Cut away
from you! Spray can glue is really good for patching up
paper kites. Stability is improved by the use of an
effective bow and a flexible tail. Hold your kite up by
the string when you are finished to see if it is
balanced. You can balance it by putting more paper on one
side. Kites are different each time you make one, so
slight adjustments might need to be made for each kite.
 I dream that silence will
descend on that ruined house where a bird flutters
I dream that our child will run through the broken panels
where a leaf flies
I dream that she will sing to the people who live here
and be heard in the world
I dream that I will again take up my needle to embroider
cloth
I dream that my husband will hold fresh baked bread in
his hand and a cup of milk
I dream that our sons will throw their kites into a blue
sky to flutter beyond the silence
I dream that this silence is the sign of our suffering
echoes gathered as in a fist and kneaded like clay into a
small ball that rolls away.
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