Kite capital

The annual festival held in Weifang City, known as the “kite capital of the world”, hosted participants from 56 countries.

On Thursday at the beach, the kite was the centre of attraction. Children scream and jump, unable to hide their awe, as breeze takes over from Mr. Maliyekkal and the kite gains height. On May 10, Kerala Social Welfare Minister Dr. M.K. Muneer is scheduled to visit the venue.

But beyond all the fanfare, for Mr. Maliyekkal, the kite is the culmination of his long journey as a boy from Kuttichira, a historically important neighbourhood in the city where culture effortlessly blended with trade right from the heydays of the Zamorin, the traditional rulers of Calicut.

A 37-year-old event manager now, he remembers how as a kid he would join his friends and fly paper kites on the very same beach.

“Later on, adventure sports got a grip on me. I was a member of the National Adventure Foundation and discovered power kites. Slowly, I got more and more involved in kite designing and decided to make a unique one of my own,” Mr. Maliyekkal says retracing his roots in kite flying.