Kite flying makes a comeback |01 August 2022

A group of children watch attentively as Mr Pillay teaches them how to make a kite (Photo: Joena Meme)

An old-time recreational pursuit among Seychellois children, kite flying seems to be making a comeback.

A group of children as well as adults gathered at North East Point on Saturday to experience the thrill of kite flying as well as kite making.

With the south east wind picking up, it is the ideal time for such activity which was once popular among children of yesteryear.

For Saturday’s activity, some came with their kites already built, while others had the chance to learn how to make one from scratch from veteran George Pillay.

“I learned how to make a kite when I was 7 years old and have been flying kites ever since,” said 85-year-old Mr Pillay.

“This is an exciting activity and I am sad it is disappearing from our culture. But today I am happy as I am able to teach the young generation something we were doing in the past and if they take it up, that would be fantastic,” shared Mr Pillay

Member of the National Assembly for Glacis, Regina Esparon, who is the main organiser of the activity, noted that “kite flying is an activity that is disappearing in our community and as we are looking into promoting our culture, kite flying is also part of our cultural activities”.

With climate change, MNA Esparon is encouraging children to make the kites on site using scrap materials such as cloth bags, wood and even cocoa leaves.

Saturday’s activity was attended by children from Glacis and La Retraite but Mrs Esparon said in future this activity might be organised on a national level.

With the right wind conditions, we could see kites of different colours flying from the beach of North East Point. Some unfortunate flyers lost their kites due to strong winds while others had theirs ending up on other people’s property.

Vidya Gappy