Comments on: Not just child's play...

Not just child's play...

beta male — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:46:25 -0800

Regularly marred by casualties, the two-day Basant festival in Pakistan leaves 11 dead and more than 100 injured. Kite flyers often use strings made of wire or coated with ground glass to try to cross and cut a rival's string or damage the other kite, often after betting on the outcome. Previously mentioned on mefi, the practice was banned in 2005 because the sport has become increasingly deadly. The ban on kite running was temporarily lifted for this year's festival. In an obvious flip-side, the ban proved to be a huge loss to the kite-twine manufacturers.

By: Gungho

Gungho — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:57:40 -0800

Most deaths and injuries come from people running off of rooftops as opposed to the manja (cutting line).

By: bhouston

bhouston — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:59:59 -0800

Gungho, I agree. The article describes it thusly:

The deaths and injuries were caused by stray bullets, sharpened kite-strings, electrocution and people falling off rooftops yesterday at the conclusion of the two-day Basant festival, said Ruqia Bano, spokeswoman for emergency service in the city of Lahore.

By: jimmythefish

jimmythefish — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:13:24 -0800

Indian kite flying ≠ Canadian kite flying.

By: jimmythefish

jimmythefish — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:14:37 -0800

...ack. Pakistani.

By: cubby

cubby — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:37:20 -0800

The festival is also bad news for the birds.

By: phliar

phliar — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:43:07 -0800

jimmythefish: Don't feel too bad about mistaking Pakistani culture for Indian -- there are more similarities than differences. (Which of course if why Indo-Pak conflicts are so intense.) Springtime in north India also involves kites with lethal twine and people falling off rooftops.

By: Malor

Malor — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:46:31 -0800

I remember hearing about the kite ban a year or two ago. It was painted, at the time, as a ridiculous Muslim law-against-impropriety or something. I guess the writeups were correct, if you consider 'impropriety' to be people dying from flying kites. Wow. And what's with the bullets? If you're losing a midair duel, do you have cousin Abdul assassinate the enemy kite?

By: jimmythefish

jimmythefish — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:53:11 -0800

philar, just a brain fart for a sec there.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:58:16 -0800

Shit. That's some serious fucking kite-flying.

By: 2sheets

2sheets — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 13:08:14 -0800

Number of deaths at the last Berkeley kite festival: 0. I'm just sayin'.

By: Azaadistani

Azaadistani — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 15:46:25 -0800

Sure 2sheets, but how many participate in Berkeley's kite festival: a few thousand. How many participate in Pakistani (Lahori) basant: a minimum of about 5 million. The ban on Basant has two different motivations: those who genuinely want to minimize deaths and injuries [who, to my mind, should argue for a safer Basant, not an outright ban] and those who oppose it because it is a non-Muslim festival that marks the advent of spring, and has nothing to do with the Islamic calendar or any Muslim entity. It is a really fun festival where people traditionally where yellow, play drums, have kite flying competitions, flirt, drink, make merry and so forth. The reason it became politicized in Pakistan is because the country went through a period of Islamization in the 1980s after which everything 'un'Islamic has to be fought for ... or couched in terms that render it compatible with Islam, often to the point of absurdity. A good example is the contentious issue of interest (i.e., interest that you earn in a bank ...). Technically interest (usury) is illegal under Islamic law. What is the Pakistani government's response? Not to say, screw you, you unproductive moronic retrograde Islamists, the system of interest is integral to the banking system, but instead to no longer call it 'interest' but 'mark-up'. I kid you not.