The first flight

The wind flowing through my hair feels like nirvana personified. Standing on hights does have it's share of fun, but when the wind blows, it triggers off the emotions that add soil to the moment. I was thrown aback for a few years, and i saw my self on the terrace of my building. I was relaxed. After the mighty endeavors, I had finally succeeded to make my yellow kite manage itself in the calm, cloudless blue sky. It had grappled up a short breeze to reach higher windy altitudes. Things become comfortable, and I was hopelessly smiling at the kite, imagining it thanking me. Time moved slowly, till me and my kite were joined by a few other kites, and their runners.


There are a few common terms used by kite flyers in India, Lapet[ when one flyer triers to fight another flyer or his opponent by pulling in his own kite with great velocity, to produce enough friction between the threads of the two kites, so as to cut off the opponent's kite] is an aggressive technique used to cut out competition in the sky. Another phrase used is Dheel[ when the flyer allows the winds to pull the kite, and achieve friction to cut of the aggressive opponent's kite]. This is an expression used for-chilling out. The winner here, is the man whose kite stays the highest in the sky, and for the longest time. No matter how many kites you cut, If you get cut, you are out of the game.


My yellow kite seemed quite high, and my inexperienced hands knew little, let alone act. The Red and Black kite, as i recall came swooning into a loop, and almost slit my cord of control. The threat of losing out on the hard work I had put into getting it up there was very real! 
LAPET !!, I heard a boy shout from another terrace.This was the first time I had triumphantly succeeded to get a kite to fly, and now it may all be fruitless. Captiousness of the kite and it's flyer was contagious. I did get the militant vibe to beat that kite up, but my unripened awareness defeated the purpose.  All of a sudden a great wind came in and my kite accelerated with it, producing friction that hacked of the convulsive kite flyer. I looked back to see the boys on the other terrace who were now trying to save their tattered flying cords from the urchins.


A lot of kites came after that day, challenging me, and I have often helplessly seen my kite float away on the warm currents,. But i learnt something really momentous from this joy of mine. Most of my victories came when I stayed calm, and tried to let my kite survive the sky, rather than the times when i tried to sever other kites.


In reality, the only way to touch the sky, 
is to let yourself fly high, 
pulling others down is a waste of a try.