Kites

There is a constant flutter of kites in the sky above Kabul. On every street, there are young boys tossing up their hand-made paper versions. These prized items dot the sky with purple, blue, pink, green. They dip and curl everywhere. It’s both a lovely sight and a magical sound.

One kite fell into our garden the other day so I could examine just how flimsy and home-made they are... the one I looked at was made from crepe paper and thin pieces of cellotape. I don't know how the boys were getting it to fly!! (or maybe that's why it crashed...)

I was admiring these kites one day with a couple of Afghan colleagues and they told me that, in Pakistan there is a special season (when there is "a nice, soft wind") when family members and (shock!!) even women fly kites. They called it the "basan" season.