pics by Dayananda Kukkaje

Mangalore, Jan 21: If Saturday saw a sea of humanity on Panambur beach at the kite festival, Sunday saw a far bigger gathering of people, who made the most of the holiday. There were far more kites dotting the sky as well. 

Young and old, men and women, boys and girls, all enjoyed the fest as all those interested in hoisting kites were able to purchase at the beach itself to fly.

While the veterans flew artistically designed kites, the children were enjoying the ordinary kites bought at the venue. The onlookers too enjoyed the afternoon sun and the beach. The entire stretch of the beach was filled with people flying kites. 

Since the wind was strong, some kites got stuck in the casuarina trees nearby. One kite, shaped like a cow and which belonged to a foreign participant, got entangled in the tree, fortunately, it was brought down by the organisers.

 As the breeze became intense, some of the kites were hurriedly reined in. It was a day for little children, as it was for grown-ups too. 

There were some interesting kites like Yakshagana, Kathakali and birds, which were the most attractive. 
Along the beach were interesting sand sculptures too — a part of the festival. There were sculptures of a person’s face and crabs, fish, tortoises etc, and were an added attraction.

Obviously, people did not want to miss out on the opportunity. There were hundreds of shutter bugs clicking away at every possible visual on the beach. And the police were busy controlling the unending traffic, which moved bumper-to-bumper.

• Mangalore: Spirits Soar High at Kite Festival in Panambur