Indian streets and marketplaces are always bustling with shops and people. The shops are congested and their offerings are overwhelming to a newcomer. Kite shops are no different!
In most places the kite shops are temporary and shops selling vegetables and fruits often sell them along with their regular wares, for a few days before the festival of Makara Sankranthi and then they go back to selling their regular wares.
Dedicated kite shops selling different types of kites do exist in most of the cities in India where kite flying is a passion. In these cities, there are certain areas or market places where small clusters of kite shops sell them throughout the year. Kite flying enthusiasts are well aware of these places and visit them regularly, even if they are far-flung.
The following presentation is of one such dedicated kite shop, which sells only kites and its related accessories in the city of Mumbai, India.
King Kite Centre
King Kite Centre is a landmark shop in Bandra (a bustling suburb in Mumbai, India), which sells multitudes of kites, both wholesale and retail.
King Kite Centre – the shop
The vibrant shop front
This kite shop was established 40 years ago. Mr.Qureshi Md. Salim’s is the present owner.
Mr.Qureshi Md. Salim
His father who came from Muradabad in Uttar Pradesh, India was the one to set up this kite shop. He had with him two trained workers from UP and thus began the business of making and selling kites. The tradition has been continuing and now the grandson Mr. Qureshi Md. Masood has joined his father to continue the business of making and selling a wide variety of colourful kites and kiting accessories. Kites have been a passion with the three generations of Qureshi.
Mr. Qureshi Md. Masood
The father and son duo ,who run the shop
There are very few shops that are dedicated to kite sellers, and King Kite Centre happens to be one of them. It is commendable that this shop has kept up with the changing trends too. Kites are sold all year long here and the maximum sale happens during the festival of Makara Sankranthi, in January. The other time in the year when kite sales are high is at the end of August when the festivals of Dassera and Diwali begin. The kite sale is low during the summer and monsoon months.
The shop though is in a prime business location is very small and is crammed with a variety of kites. There is barely any free space to walk inside.
Kites in bundles are stored on shelves from floor to ceiling, some in front of the store and some are hung from the shop front creating a colourful and vibrant exterior.
Stacks of kites stored inside the shop
A kite lit with LED’s
A cloth kite with a graphic print
A kite for promoting a TV serial
Shop front with a variety of kites
They have sold kites, which are as cheap as Rs.2 to extravagantly expensive ones that cost Rs.600 per piece. They also specialize in custom-made kites in sizes of 1ft, 2ft, 5ft, and 10ft, in size. These special kites are made in either cloth or plastic materials. The costs for custom-made kites vary according to the choice of the material - cloth ones cost Rs.250/sq ft, and the plastic ones cost Rs. 175/sq ft.
Along with the routine paper and plastic kites in traditional shapes that these kite makers create and sell, nowadays they are importing from China readymade cloth kites in plain colours. These are customized by them, by printing on them interesting patterns, graphic animals, butterflies, superheroes like Spiderman, Superman, Batman etc, and sometimes company logos as per the buyer’s requirements.
Bird shaped cloth kite along with a kite with a TV channel logo
Bird shaped kite with a prominent beak
They have not only been selling kites to shops all over Mumbai, but have been exporting kites to countries like Australia, Canada; especially bought by Indians living abroad. These are sent in large quantities, packed carefully in discarded large, flat LCD TV cartons to kite enthusiasts who want to fly these kites specifically!
This is a one-stop-shop for all kiting accessories too. Along with a variety of kites, they also sell many types of firkis (the kite reels on which the thread is wound), different types of kite flying thread in cotton, nylon or glass-coated manja, in many attractive, bright colours. Not all kite flyers buy all these accessories, as the firkis are reusable with some new thread wound on them.
Stacks of firkis
Colourful firkis hung on the shop front
A close up of firkis hung in the shop
More firkis of a different design
Plastic firkis
Occasions for kites:
1. Kites are being sold for another purpose entirely, namely- advertising! Whenever there is an event to promote a brand or a product launch, kites have a new role to play. These kites are specially designed for such occasions and are sold in bulk to the promoters. The kites on which the brand or the product name is printed are displayed or arranged in ways to advertise, make them visible and catch attention.
2. Another user of kites is the corporate world which also orders specially created kites in bulk to distribute them amongst clients and workers as gifts.
3. Kites have been specially created for the film premiers of many Bollywood movies like Ravan, The Dirty Picture, Bol Bacchan, Ek Tha Tiger, Chennai Express etc .by these kite makers.
A kite with a popular Bollywood movie design- promotional material
Posters of Bollywood movies amongst kites
4. In the recent past, there has been a great demand for kites as return gifts for children’s birthday parties. They are a unique proposition for such occasions, they delight a child and are not very expensive too! Such kites are specially designed and bought in large numbers to celebrate the occasion.
5. Kites have been made by this team for election campaigning as well, carrying the different party symbols. A unique role indeed for kites!
Buyers:
This shop has been selling kites for many purposes other than just kite flying enthusiasts, both young and the old.
It is indeed a sight to see the steady stream of young boys who come into the shop to buy kites! One sees all classes of people coming into this shop. But it is the young boys who are not financially well off trying to bargain for a few rupees during their purchases, that is really touching. These boys do have not many options for entertainment and it is these kites that bring a sense of freedom and enjoyment.
The Qureshi father and son duo also help first time buyers, and young boys when they come into the shop. They patiently listen to their customer’s requirements and try to guide them to buy the right kite for the right price. Once the purchase is complete they also help in tying the thread to the kite for first-time flyers as this along with the kite’s craftsmanship lies the ease with which a kite could soar high into the sky.
Young boys buying kites and firkis
A young customer checking out the kites in the shop
More boys buying kites
Bargaining and convincing in the process, before the purchase
Customers being shown kite varieties
A young boy buying a firki and getting the thread rolled on to it
Achievements:
Since King Kite Centre has been around for a long time and has shared the passion of kite flying with the kite flying enthusiasts, by creating new shapes using new materials, this dedication has been recognized by many journalists who have written numerous articles about them, and their collections in magazines like Outlook, Woman etc. Many a time while talking about kites, their shop and the members themselves have been interviewed on television and radio shows, like TV9, Zee News, Radio Mirchi etc.
They have been interviewed by journalists from other countries as well and articles about their craft and the people involved have been published in The Sun from London, and also in New York Times!
Many documentary films have also been created on them by students and kite enthusiasts, both from local areas and from other countries.
A feather in their cap is that they were featured as an iconic symbol of the small businesses in Mumbai in a calendar created by a foreign advertising agency. The calendar showcases this colourful shop along with its wares and the enthusiastic owner. This is proudly displayed in their shop and is shared with people who are curious about their business and dedication to this kite craft
Newspaper articles made into a poster- behind the son
The calendar featuring the father and their kite collection
A close up of the calender
All these news articles about them and their shop are proudly displayed on a wall in this tiny shop. This only goes to show that this is a shop that not only cherishes the craft of making kites but also understands and encourages people who are passionate about kites and kite flying.
