Ashok Shah, 50, loves kites. So much so, that he has made a living out of making them. What started as a trial to fulfil his son’s dream of flying unique kites—which looked like Spiderman and Superman—turned him into a full-time kite maker. He was in Mysore recently to show his kites for the Dasara kite festival.
“In 1994, when I was flying a kite, my children demanded kites (that were) like superheroes. I was not sure where I could get them. I looked everywhere in Mumbai with no luck. That evening, my wife told me that since I liked art, I should try to make something new for the kids,” he says.
After a few trials, this electronics shop owner in Mumbai turned into a kite maker for the children. “My first attempt was a Spiderman kite. Sometime after this, I was flying kites of different shapes on the beach. People began to ask me how I made them and what I used to make them,” he says.
A few years after this, the Gujarat government recognised his talent and invited him to take part in the Gujarat kite festival. “This is an internationally renowned festival where people from across the globe participate. I took part in it and an American kite artist there mocked me. He told me that he had been coming to Gujarat for many years now and had met only one or two locals who could make great kites. I took it as a challenge and asked him for three years to make those very kites he was showing, if not better ones,” Ashok recalls.
Since then, Ashok makes kites with whatever material he can find. From parafoil kites to flexi foils to modern 3D box kites, Ashok pretty much makes kites from everything one can imagine. “I use varied material like thermocol, leaves, paper dish, paper napkin, ripstop nylon, plastic etc. I have made kites that are as big as 200 feet to just one inch,” he says with a triumphant smile.
After Gujarat, Ashok decided to take up kitemaking as a project. He began researching on techniques and learnt making kites from various materials. His obsession was recognised not only by the government of Gujarat, but also internationally. “I have won 14 international prizes in kite-flying competitions. My artificial diamond-studded Ganesha kite is exhibited in kite museum of Turkey. Another kite, also studded with artificial diamonds with Radha and Krishna on it, was bought by the Washington DC’s international kite museum,” he says.
Reviving the tradition
To revive the once-popular kite flying, Ashok travels far and wide, teaching children and holding workshops on kite-flying and making.
In Mysore, as part of the invitees, Ashok flew his famous King Cobra kites and the two-string kite along with tiger kite and a boat kite. “My favourite kite is the box-type 3D kite, which I flew today (Sunday). It was fun watching nearly 5,000 people who gathered to see us fly the kite,” he says.
