HIDCO to hold 'Bho Katta' at Eco Park

Kolkata: Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) will organise a kite flying contest at Eco Park on Sunday.

The concept behind holding the contest is celebration of freedom and revival of an old art.

The contest called "Bho Katta" will be held from 4 pm to 7 pm. The contestants will have to go to the office at Eco Park and get themselves registered. They will have to bring cotton thread manja and latai. The contestants can buy both these items from the Eco Park. However, no thread made in China will be allowed. Two contestants will fly kites simultaneously and the competition will be on the basis of winner to stay. There will be a panel of judges and prizes will be given to the winner. Kite flying was introduced by Nawab Ali Shah when he came to Metiabruz and settled there before the Sepoy Mutiny. It soon became a popular sport and many aristocrats both in East and West Bengal were found flying kites with currency notes tagged on them.

In Bengal, Biswakarma Puja is associated with kite flying. However, in Hoghly district kites are flown on the first day of the month of Poush.

Various types of kites like Mukhpora, Chandial, Petkatti were very popular names in Bengali household.

There were many shops selling kites. However, from the mid-1980s, kite flying gradually took a backseat as in the multi-storeyed buildings that came up after pulling down the old structures, the roofs belonged to the builders. So, the young residents who came to the apartments did not have any place to fly kites. Earlier, in Kolkata, kites were flown from the rooftops. From the mid-1990s, kite flying became a forgotten sport in the city. However, in the districts and in some pockets of the city like Rajabazar, Metiabruz, Kidderpore kite flying is still a popular sport. There are two shops on Creeck Row that sell kites mainly to the districts.