Listening: Fariha Perveiz'z Patant baaz Sajna.

Basant attracts both the rich and the poor, and adds a festive flavor to their hustle bustle. Kite flying, horn and bugle blowing, firework display, feasting and gatherings are all observed on Basant as rituals. The rooftops of houses are a gallant sight. Groups of friends gather to fly kites. At one side lies a pile of kites and balls of strings. In another corner lies a half eaten meal or a plate of snacks with a jug of water. When thirsty, fliers do not bother to pour water in a glass but put the jug to their lips and gulp down water. A tape recorder is pouring out music at a high volume, but even louder are the enthusiastic shouts of men who shout bow kaata when a kite is cut in a paicha. A paicha demands concentration and to cut a big kite is its culminating point. It is not only of interest to those who engage in it, but claim the attention of bystanders and men on surrounding roofs. The kite, which is cut off its string, drifts down and falls in a lucky house. Most often, a group of boys beat the gate to demand the kite. If there are two or three different groups, all claim that the kite is theirs. If the kite falls in the street, a fight is inevitable. The one who cuts most kites with his one kite is considered as one who is greatly skilled in this sport. An equally skilled person is one whose kite soars higher and higher.

Preparations for Basant begin about a month before it. Men and boys stock kites and strings, and kites can be occasionally seen on the sky. Men can be seen applying chemicals to strings tied from one end of a wall to another. The stronger a string, the more kites it will cut while remaining whole itself. To mend torn kites, a cheap and effective glue is made at home with the help of wheat flour. Saturday night, called Basant night, is an intensified version of the scene on Basant. White kites are flown throughout the night. Fliers sleep at dawn and are up well before noon. Even those who want to sleep cannot sleep because of a flood of light and noises of men and music.

Media has taken up the cause of Basant and promoted it. Basant-related programs are broadcasted in which the colors of Basant, i.e. red, orange, yellow and green are dominant. Various singers have come up with songs on Basant and Fareeha Parveiz’s patang baz sajna is the most popular. Placing Eid (religious celebration) and Basant (cultural norm of the Hindus) side by side, it is obvious that the latter has assumed gigantic proportions. Basant is more prepared for, awaited, and celebrated, and more enjoyment derived from Basant than from Eid. Basant has emerged as part of pop culture. Whether it is good or bad, right or wrong, is another debate.

A major inconvenience is the frequent breakdown of electricity. The government has banned the use of metallic wire but men still use it instead of string because it is most effective in catching other kites. When these metallic wires come in contact with electric cables, the electricity goes off with a blast. This can also kill the flier.

Basant should be observed within limits, and our countrymen do not know their limits. Loud music, drinking, firing, betting, using steel wire, etc. should be avoided. In short, anything that contributes to another’s discomfort (especially the old and the invalid) must not be employed for the sake of fun.

Those haunted by a passion of kite flying argue that Basant is a source of income for many (kite sellers are mostly poor people with small shops). People take up kite making on part time basis while the more skilled depend on it as a full time occupation. Those against this pastime argue that this is a false argument to justify kite flying and the wastage of money for the sake of others. They hold that there is no advantage, no fun, and no excitement whatsoever in kite flying. This is strongly refuted by kite lovers, who assert that there is something in it, something mystical and something magnetic that cannot be put into words. Perhaps Maugham’s The Kite can help to explain this ‘something’. Though the writer is unsure of the validity of his own proposals, they are worth consideration. He observes that perhaps the sport gives the flier a "sense of power" and "mastery over the elements" as it soars in the sky against the wind. Or perchance he "identifies himself" with the kite as it soars above him and the world of man. Or it offers "an escape from the monotony of life." It is still more likely that "in some dim, confused way it represents an ideal of freedom and adventure."

At the end, what i remember is a blurry memory, wearing beauti ful churridar wid basanti churiyan,standing on the roof top looking around eating samosas, rating kites n boosting up my uncle who were "laraying pecha's"...