Last Updated:August 22, 2025, 10:32 IST
A group of kite enthusiasts from the coastal city, known as Team Mangaluru, has been invited to represent India at the world’s largest international kite festival in France.
Not Just a Kite: The Story, the Art, and the Message Mangaluru Is Sending to France (Image: Representative)
In India, a kite isn’t just paper and thread. It’s the tug of childhood on an open terrace, the thrill of cutting an opponent’s string, the joy of watching color fill the sky. In Mangaluru, Karnataka this simple childhood joy has transformed into something far bigger, a cultural ambassador that will soon fly above Europe.
Mangaluru’s Team Heads to France
A group of kite enthusiasts from the coastal city, known as Team Mangaluru, has been invited to represent India at the world’s largest international kite festival in France this September. The team is led by Sarvesh Rao, who has long stitched together not just kites, but also the pride of a city that calls itself Namma Kudla.
This isn’t their first flight abroad. Over the years, they have unfurled kites inspired by Indian traditions in more than a dozen countries from Canada to Korea, England to Indonesia. But this time, the stakes feel higher.
The Chariot in the Sky
For the French festival, the team has designed a giant kite in the form of a chariot – 18 feet tall, 10 feet wide, and stitched with precision. The artwork comes from Dinesh Holla, a Mangaluru-based artist whose designs breathe cultural symbolism.
Building such a creation requires more than skill, it needs community. Alongside Rao, teammates Pranesh Kudroli, Satish Rao, and Arun have been working late hours to ensure the kite rises not just in the sky, but in spirit.
A Message About Water
But Team Mangaluru is not content with only grandeur. They are also sending another creation that carries a message with universal resonance: the crisis of water scarcity. This kite depicts a palanquin carrying a water pot, surrounded by symbols of earth and life. The sky forms its crown, mountains hold its base, and a lush green canopy trails from its tail. The message is clear, water is life, and every drop is sacred.
Designed in applique style and made from ripstop nylon, this kite is stitched in Rao’s own house in Ashok Nagar. It is as much a craft of fabric as it is of conviction. “Water is a visible god,” the team explains, hoping their design sparks conversations thousands of miles away.
A 18-Foot Chariot in the Sky: How Mangaluru’s Kite Will Fly at the World’s Biggest Festival
In a world that often sees technology as the only way forward, there is something quietly radical about a kite carrying a message across borders. Mangaluru’s team shows how local traditions can soar into global dialogues.
A simple childhood pastime, reinvented with art and purpose, becomes a reminder: the sky is still wide enough for stories stitched by hand.
As their kites prepare to lift off in France, the people of Mangaluru will be watching, knowing that somewhere in the winds above Europe, their culture and their concerns for the planet are flying too.
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d…Read More
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More
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