DLC Blog

Kite Flying in Kabul

Kite flying in Kabul was an amazing experience, especially after having read the 2004 novel Kite Runner. Kite Runner is a book, set mostly in Afghanistan, that was so well written I felt like my recent kite flying adventure was one of many and not the first. I knew about the cuts I'd eventually have on my fingers the second I found out I was going.

We went last Friday. Friday is a day off over here and my Afghan friend and colleague, Sardar, invited me along with two others to go fly kites with him and his three sons. All seven of us piled into his four-door Toyota Corolla at around two in the afternoon. We found a spot on Maran Jon hill with lots of other kite flyers and bought the essential gear- a few paper-skinned kites and a 5000 meter spool of nylon string. The kites look innocent enough-
brightly colored tissue paper and thin bamboo dowels- but their fragile appearance is quite deceiving. These disposable toys are engineered to destroy.

Kite flying can be done solo, but having a small team makes things a bit easier. One person controls the spool, another pilots the kite and any extras serve as look-outs and advisors. The goal of the sport is to skillfully maneuver your kite so that you can cut others out of the sky with your line all while avoiding getting cut down yourself. Anything in the air is fair prey.

I had the best teachers in the world. Combined, the four of them had overa half century's worth of kite flying experience. After getting the kite in the air- a task of spinning it around overhead like a lasso- they passed off the line and guided me through the delicate process of keeping the kite airborne. This involves feeding and reeling the line at precise moments. The kites natural motion is to go in circles and without the proper control it will circle its way to the ground in no time. Whenever I worked myself into a suicide spiral one of Sardar's sons would take the line, get the kite on track, and hand the line back to me for another try. I was learning, but didn't avoid the penalties of poor kite control. The first are the cuts on your fingers left when the line's slack gets tightened by a gust of wind. These are painful and bloody and the line actually leaves a little melted residue as it cuts the skin, but that's not anywhere near as bad as the second penalty- getting your line sliced by another kite flyer.

After flying for a while on Maran Jon hill we decided to head to another part of the city that would be less busy and easier for novices, like myself. The seven of us got back in the Corolla and rallied to a place called Be Be Maharo hill that had a beautiful view overlooking the city, soviet tank skeletons laying belly up, and a dry Olympic-sized swimming pool complete with highdive platforms. Kids were playing soccer in the shallow end of the pool and the kite flying congregation was small enough to suit students at the shallow end of their learning curve. I quickly realized that I'd found my favorite part of Kabul.

My teachers never quit on me. Towards the end of our lesson I was able to repay their patient efforts by keeping things under control and untethering an unsuspecting local. The smile a small victory like that leaves on your face is slow to fade. It's been there almost a week now.

Michael C. VanHenley
Educational Support Coordinator
Digital Learning Commons
michaelv@learningcommons.org

Posted by Michael at December 20, 2006 12:16 PM in Social Studies.