Let's Go Fly A Kite

When I hear someone talk about a dangerous sport with a high casualty rate, I automatically flash back to my days of competitive kiting. That’s why I was shocked to learn that Pakistan had lifted its kite-flying ban.

The ban’s been lifted just before the Basant, “an annual festival that heralds spring and is marked by flying colorful kites in the eastern province of Punjab and its capital, Lahore.” Unfortunately, here’s what happened at Basant ‘06:

During Basant last year, seven people were fatally slashed by glass-coated or metal-reinforced kite strings, prompting authorities to ban kite-flying.

Apparently these Pakistani kite flyers are no novices, using glass covered and metal strings to hold their massive floating creations. Quite honestly, it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Or is fatally slashed with a reinforced kite string.

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