Bhopal: On the day of Makar Sankranti, a harvest festival which falls in January, the blue sky can be seen filled with gorgeous, multicolour lights. You must have heard about the passion some people have for kites but have you ever heard of a person who not only flies kites but also wears them? In Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh, there is one such kite man who wears gold kites on his neck.
The owner of a small shop which sells wholesale kites, Laxmi Narayan Khandelwal is known not for his trade but the kite ornaments that he wears. Laxmi Narayan Khandelwal has a shop near the Laxmi Talkies in the Itwara area. He has been selling kites for almost fifty years. He is so passionate about them that he wears kites on his neck, his ears and in his rings as gold ornaments.
Has been passionate about kites since the age of ten.
Kite man Laxmi Narayan Khandelwal says that he has been flying kites for almost fifty years. He is still as fond of flying kites as he was when he was ten years old. The kite man says that as a child, he would eagerly wait for the times when he could fly his kites again. He would restlessly wait for Makar Sankranti, a festival known for flying kites. But that too had a problem. The festival comes for only one day in a year. So, what was he supposed to do without his beloved kites for the rest of the year?
Converted his passion into a profession
The kite man says that he thought what better profession than to do what he loves. He started a wholesale trade of kites. His attachment of kites gave him an idea. Why not convert kites into jewellery and ornaments? This idea of his soon grew bigger and changed his life.
He makes new kite jewellery every Makar Sankranti
The kite man said that at first, he made kite jewellery out of silver. Later on, with time, he decided to make these ornaments with gold. Now, this has turned into a tradition. Every year before Makar Sankranti, he gets a kite ornament and wears it on the festival.
Each kite jewellery weighs approximately 140 grams
Laxmi Narayan wears two big gold kites in his neck. Apart from this, he wears four rings, two earrings and a spin (chakri), all shaped like kites. This jewellery weighs approximately 140 grams in total and costs five to six lakh rupees.
Has already prepared new jewellery for Makar Sankranti in 2020
Kite man Laxmi Narayan informed that this year, for Sankranti, he has got himself prepared a pendant in the shape of a kite worth 20 grams which includes the spin and kite thread.
People flock to hear his splendid commentary
Laxmi Narayan takes part in many kite flying competitions throughout the city without fail. He is known in many other cities for his part in these competitions. Along with taking part in the competition in Kolar during Makar Sankranti, people also flock to listen when he also commentates beautifully in the Bhopali language.
READ: Kanpur police urge people to not fly kites amid lockdown
