This kite was seen hanging in the ixora tree. It had lost a kite fight and drifted into the tree. There are many colorful kites with various designs, some quite big that take part in the kite fights during the festival of Sankranti. The abrasive line (called "maanjaa" here) used to fly the kite is coated with crushed glass and rice glue and some dye. Two or more kites engage in a fight and the one still in the sky is the winner. Groups of people gather on the roof/terraces of buildings and shout vigorously when they win a fight. Young children run through the streets unmindful of the traffic chasing drifting kites that have lost the fight.
During this festival people have colorful Rangoli (sandpainting) in front of their houses and they make traditional dishes. For colorful pictures of sandpainting and the reel used to wind the coated line to the fly the kite, take a look at this blog.
"A certain amount of opposition is a great help to man. Kites rise against, not with, the wind. Even a head wind is better than none. No man ever worked his passage anywhere in a dead calm." -inaccurately attributed to Lewis Mumford
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