It’s January 14, six in the morning and I can clearly hear the screaming of “Woh katta! (There goes the kite string!)” in my ear. This alarm of mine never fails to wake me up. Last night was a sleepless night. My brother and I went through the job of arranging kites and preparing them in an orderly manner, transferring of manjha (kite string) from the big charkha to the small charkhis, and of course discussing the strategy for tomorrow (including the opponent we’d target and the ones we’d stay safe from) .
I woke up and went straight to the roof to analyse the situation of kites flying around our house. I came back and reported straight to my brother. He told me to get ready and meet him on the roof by 7 o’clock. I was there five minutes earlier and was eagerly waiting for my brother. I watched other people coming with their kites and charkhis and some with the sound system too, preparing themselves for the big day (yes, that happens in Jaipur)!. I was damn excited from head to toe.
Finally, my brother showed up and we start our battle with our favourite kite. That day, neither hunger nor heat or cold stopped us. We flew kites all day long with full enthusiasm and excitement. There were times of glory and periods of defeat, moments of laughter and moments of anger. But in the end, we all flew the kites, with strings of love attached to this day, to this city. And then, we went downstairs for dinner.
I woke up suddenly in the middle of class. I realised I’d missed an important lecture, but there was a smile all over my face!