The making and selling of kites is largely a Muslim enterprise while the buying is an universal activity, carried out with fervent enthusiasm by Muslims, Hindus, Jams and foreign tourists alike. A large part of the fun of the festival revolves around the bazaars where the kites are displayed and sold. The bazaar at Tankshala Kalupur is a major area for stocking up. The best time to visit is on the night of January 13. As with the entire festival, shopping activities are accompanied by the hearty consumption of snacks, whose tantalizing scents waft through the bazaar.
Kites generally come in sets of five.
Extremely beautiful ones of the best quality can be bought for Rs. 20 or less a set. For around Rs 100, one can buy half a dozen sets in assorted shapes, sizes and colours plus several spools of string. The actual flying of a kite is a sport which has attained the aura of an art form, and its skis are honed over many years. The placement and tying of the threads are in themselves intricate and precise skills, in which the aerodynamics of the kites are determined by the relative lengths of the string segments and the exact placement of the knot. The alternate tightening of the string, the co-ordination with prevailing wind currents, and the choosing of the proper kite for weather conditions of the moment, are all factors which are important to the performance of a seasoned sportsman and his kite.