Patang Devi (The Kite Goddess)

A short pictorial story - reconstructed from one of my most vivid childhood memories of summer holidays - about Nuria, the girl who wasn't allowed to fly kites. Of course, because only boys could.

One of the most enduring memories of when I came home from boarding school for summer holidays is of boys flying kites in the fields and rooftops, trying to outdo each other. But the girls were always missing. They were home, because they were girls.

One day after school, all the boys went out with their kites, but left behind Nuria, a dear friend who was a girl. Why? Because only boys could fly kites. I was in the field that day, and no matter how much they tried, the kites wouldn’t take flight. In the end, a gust of wind blew and tangled all of them irretrievably in a tree. They then invoked Patang Devi (the Kite Goddess) for her blessing, in a bid to free their beloved kites from the branches. They held sacred rituals and ceremonies; the irony of it all completely lost on them.

I don’t quite remember what happened to the boys or to their kites after that. A few times, I did see Nuria in the fields, all by herself, trying to fly a red kite - the echos of her laughter still fresh in my ears. I also can’t help but marvel at the uncanny resemblance between the Kite Goddess and the young girl, Nuria.