With only a week until Sankranti, the festival synonymous with ‘Patangbazi’ in Hyderabad, traditional wholesale markets of old city including Gulzar Houz, Mangalhat, Moosa Bowli and Dhoolpet are bustling with activity.
Unending rows and rows of kites in a variety of colours and designs line the shelves of ‘Patang’ shops in the city’s traditional markets. “As Sankranti draws closer, we are expecting to do more business this year. At present, a lot of retail kite traders are visiting our shops to make purchases. In the coming days, however, groups of youngsters, who indulge in Patang Bazi during Sankranti, will start crowding the shops,” says Arvind Singh, a trader at Dhoolpet.
The kite business in Hyderabad has suffered in the last three years as a result of the Covid pandemic. Traders are anticipating a good year now that the Covid pandemic has passed.
“There was no business during peak Covid. As a result, for the past two to three years, almost all the traders involved in kites have reported significant financial loses. Now things are quite normal and we are looking forward to good business,” says Mohit Singh, another trader.
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Many families residing in Dhoolpet make paper kites for a living, and a few varieties are imported from elsewhere. The traders provide the paper and bamboo sticks to the craftsmen, who make kites in their homes and deliver the finished product to the traders.
Traditional kites such as the Dulhan patang, Ek kalam, Doh kalam, Anda patang, Zebiya, and others can be found at Gulzar Houz.“Kites are usually named according to the design. So a kite with two egg shaped papers affixed on it is ‘Anda Patang’ while a well decorated kite is often called as Dulhan Patang etc,” explained Shoieb, a trader at Gulzar Houz. Traders point out there is no major difference in the prices of kites.
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