February 22, 2004

In a country synonymous with extremism in the eyes of the world, Basant offers a welcome relief to those at home and abroad

FEBRUARY is perhaps the best image-building month for Pakistan. It also serves to answer, and somewhat cleanse, the negative marks of interrogation raised by the international community. Far from the maddening cries of extremism and religious fundamentalism that have been erroneously translated into terrorism, the month of February summons a brief relief from these jarring terms. Releasing a fusion of colours in the run up to the arrival of spring, February’s most powerful answer to salvage Pakistan’s fading image is, Basant.

Those who have just seen the CNN version of this country are cordially invited to Lahore, on the occasion of Basant, to view the explosion of multi-tiered activity. Boisterous, uninhibited by dogmas and celebrated with abandon, the day marking Basant is as eagerly awaited as the traditionally religious Eidul Fitur falling after the Ramadan. It is fundamentally communal, cross cultural, cutting across religious lines with the minimum essentials of a kite and string.

“Is Basant segregated?” is the one question put by a lone foreigner to an employee of a local hotel. The ‘no sir’ answer further puzzles him. The lone foreigner’s next question outsmarts his own absurdity. “I was under the impression that it was. That’s what my friends told me back home. They said that everything in Pakistan was segregated. Women had separate kite flying enclosures from men.” It takes all the skills of an excellent course in customer service for the hotel employee to contain the reply to a polite smile, followed by a similarly polite ‘enjoy our complimentary Basant service on the hotel rooftop, sir’. The lone foreigner is not prepared for what greets his eyes.

Non-segregated, brightly dressed women in all shades of saffron are fraternizing with men! Most of them are cheering up the men flying kites. A cliche is dismantled, so is the lone foreigner’s impression. “This is unbelievable! Women aren’t wearing that thing. What is called? Ah yes! I was told it’s called the Taliban outfit.”

No, Basant outfits are nowhere near to what the lone foreigner might have anticipated. Pretty faces framed by salon-straightened hair present a remotely removed image from the cliche of suppression. The brightly coloured clothes are specially tailored for this occasion.

The lone foreigner has not come specifically for Basant. He just happens to be in Lahore on February 15, the day set for Basant. But there are many, filing through the hotel foyers, who have come from different parts of the country to participate in the kite flying festivities. Some have made reservations a month in advance and some have landed from the Middle East and Europe to combine the occasion of Eidul Azha with Basant. “Several government officials, businessmen and diplomats have been calling us to book rooms for their guests. Other than international sports tournaments like cricket and hockey, Basant is the only festivity which gives us good business,” confides a hotel manager.

Last year, the economic activity brought on by Basant was nearly two billion rupees, with a huge chunk of it going to the hotel industry. This year, the total amount spent on organizing Basant alone is close to Rs500 million, what to talk of all the economic activity generated by it.

So, what is it about Basant that has people flying from other parts of the country and globe? Why is there such a rush to get a foothold on the roof of any house in the Walled City? The real estate value of havelis and rooftops in the Walled City of Lahore has shot up to an incredible high. Basant is not the only festival which has given a shot in the arm to Lahore’s flagging culture, but it has helped tremendously in improving and resurrecting the centuries old Walled City. Some old havelis of Gowalmandi, Bhatti Gate and Delhi Gate, particularly the Barood Khana and Cucoo’s cafe near the Lahore Fort and the Badshahi Mosque, have been renovated with great care by the owners to rediscover customary traditions.

At least two months before Basant, some of the rooftops of the Walled City houses and plazas were booked for a minimum of Rs100,000 each. People holding hefty bank accounts rent them for the weekend on which Basant falls. Sumptuous barbecue and traditional meals are elaborately prepared; arrangements are made to install high-powered beam lights to illuminate the sky for Basant night and a list of invitees is drawn up to add glamour to kite flying.

Behind all the razzmatazz the one aspect clouding Basant is the frequency of kite-related injuries and short circuit blackouts in Lahore. On July 1, 2003, Mian Mohammad Amer, chief of the city government imposed a two-day ban on the flying and selling of kites. The ban was extended for 90 days by the provicial government. Mian Amer said that prior to the ban, at least 45 people died in six months in kite flying incidents. Nearly 425 people were wounded and Wapda suffered a loss of billions of rupees on account of power fluctuations and trippings. After the last year’s ban, Wapda’s losses were reduced from Rs3.2 billion on every Sunday, to about Rs0.12 billion.

The reason for the ban was the use of kite-string made from ground-glass and metal paste that hardened to make the string slice like a knife. Some hardened kite flyers also use wire strings which hit electrical power lines, causing short circuit. The victims of this dangerously made twine are motorcyclists who have had their throats slit by it. “The ban has reduced the power outages by 80 per cent and people are happy with continued electricity power this summer,” said the chief of LESCO, Riaz Toor. The chief of the city police, Khawaja Khalid Farooq, said that around 180 people have been arrested for violating the ban. When the ban was lifted in the first week of February this year, to be reimposed on February 20, there was immense jubilation amongst the kite vendors. A rough estimate revealed that the ban had deprived 1,500 people of livelihood earned through kite manufacturing.

Casualty figures, following the day after Basant, showed that some kite flyers had flouted the ban on the use of metal wire. Loss of life was reported to be 10 and the toll of people injured was well over 100. The city’s police chief claimed that 148 people were arrested for using contraband kite-flying material.

Good or bad, the ban on kite flying shows that we as a people cannot restrict ourselves to enjoy a simple pleasure-giving event. Unless it is accompanied by a few fatalities and legal violations, our level of excitement remains mediocre. An activity like Basant which generates economic and cross-cultural momentum should be celebrated without touching base with excesses. Must we add another embarrassing word to our overloaded chart of extremism?

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