Sizes of kites
There is no exact standard for the sizes of these diamond shaped kites. It varies from state to state and depends on the manufacturer, as kites are made as well as used locally.
In Mumbai, the kite sizes depend on the length of the vertical diagonal. The medium and large size kites are known as Ponthai, Manjul, Aadha, Pouna, and Tava.. The smaller size kites are known as Bara and Dhai.
If L is the length of the vertical diagonal in a diamond shaped kite, the kite types are:
Ponthai: In this type of kite L= 12”
Manjul: In this type of kite L= 15” to 16”
Aadha: In this type of kite L= 24”
Pouna: In this type of kite L= 30”
Tava: In this type of kite L= 36”
The following images of these kite types
There are a number of even smaller kites too where L= 3cm, 5cm. These are difficult to make as the sticks are very thin and only skilled workers can make them. These kites are usually made with brightly coloured papers, papers with ethnic Indian prints, and are decorated with gold, silver coloured highlights. They make a very pretty picture. They are not sold singly but as a pack of 4, or 5 differently coloured ones forming a set.
The following images are some examples of these very small or tiny kites.
These may be used to fly but are more used as decorative elements, or souvenirs or even handouts for a brand, movie, and product advertisements.
Sometimes in order to introduce variety in small kites to make them attractive to the very young kite enthusiasts the currently popular Indian cartoon characters are printed on them. Chotta Bheem is a cartoon series that is popular with young children and the kite below has this character printed on it.
Another popular cartoon character Doremon is printed on the kite shown in the image below.
Sometimes these small kites may be cut in different shapes too, other than the regular diamond shape. The bird - shaped kites shown below illustrate this point.
In Hyderabad, the kite sizes are known differently. They are available in different sizes. These are known as – number 5, number 6, half-pound (aada-pound), one-pound (ek-pound), and two-pounds (do-pound).
There are kites smaller than number 5 too. But, generally they are not Doredaars.
The image below shows these in the descending order of the size – do-pound , which is the biggest to No.5, which is the smallest . (Image source)
Thus the kite sizes may vary and also their names and types, but it is this basic diamond shape that is manufactured in large numbers all over the country with touches of the local flavor and seasonal trends.