The Hidden Cost of Kite Festival Joy
In the heart of Ahmedabad's historic Dilli Darwaza area, a vibrant kite bazaar springs to life each year ahead of Makar Sankranti. Brightly colored kites veil shopfronts like bridal attire. Pedestrians weave through crowded streets. Eager eyes watch kites dance in the sky. Yet beneath this festive surface lies a painful reality for the skilled artisans who make it all possible.
Hands Colored by Craft and Pain
Twenty-five-year-old Azeet Khan works diligently at a spinning wheel. His hands are stained a deep, floral pink. He applies a thick paste to cotton strings. Khan normally works as a waiter in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. He takes two months off to travel to Gujarat for the Uttarayan season. He hopes to earn extra income.
His palms tell a different story. Repeated cuts and bleeding have left them nearly numb. The pink paste, a mixture of rice flour, glass powder, dyes, and binding agents, causes these injuries. "Our skins get cut regularly," Khan explains. "It comes with the craft. The glass cuts through the skin, deep and repeatedly."
He shows his hands. One palm is wrapped in fraying tape. The other displays angry red gashes. Both are coated in pink residue. These wounds take at least a month and a half to heal. Simple tasks like eating daal chawal with his hands become difficult.
A Generations-Old Process with No Alternatives
Khan learned manjha-making when he was just five years old. For fifteen years, he has returned to Ahmedabad for this work. He and his brother operate at one of two spooling sites in the Shahpur-Dilli Darwaza area. They color and spool kite strings manually.
The process is harsh. Workers pull threads across their bare hands to apply the abrasive paste. This action leaves deep cuts. Khan reflects on the lack of options. "There is no other way to make this. If we use gloves, the thread won't stay under our grip and starts slipping."
Customers wait impatiently on the pavement. These areas transform into temporary production sites. Skilled laborers like Khan earn between Rs 700 and Rs 800 per day for their painful work.
A Family Enterprise Spanning Decades
A few shops down the same lane, another spool-making site operates. Mohammed Irshad Sheikh has been in this business for thirty to forty years. His wife, Shama Begum, handles customer payments. She has worked alongside him for eighteen years, since their marriage.
"The spooling work starts from 6 am and goes on till about 8 pm," Shama says. "It takes an hour to create one spool." Prices vary based on length, ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 or more. Profits are modest but sufficient to pay workers' wages.
The couple employs ten workers from Kanpur. They sell twenty to twenty-five spools daily. Their elder daughter helps manage the site, continuing the family tradition.
Young Faces in the Festival Crowd
Amid the bustling market, a young boy in a faded yellow shirt offers a bright smile. He carries a small basket over his shoulder, selling tape rolls used as protective thimbles by kite fliers. He attends school but sells these items during Makar Sankranti to help his family.
"I do wish to fly a kite," he admits with a wry expression. "But I am scared that if I catch one, it will be taken away." He persists, determined to make his first sale of the day. Nearby, his friends sell trumpets blown when a kite is cut during aerial contests.
A Temporary Migration for Seasonal Earnings
These migrant workers and small vendors will remain at Dilli Darwaza until the festival concludes. Then they will return to their homes in Uttar Pradesh with their earnings. They plan to come back next year, hoping for a better season. Their pink-stained hands and slow-healing cuts are the hidden price of Gujarat's beloved kite festival.
The sturdy ashlar stone doorway of Dilli Darwaza, a remnant of Ahmedabad's 15th-century fortifications, stands witness to this annual cycle. It sees the joy of festival-goers and the quiet sacrifice of those who make their joy possible.
