My heartfelt thanks to Asko Parpola and to those who have responded off-list with suggestions. I'm already much further ahead than I was! All the best, Dan
On Tue, 17 Oct 2023 at 20:25, Asko Parpola <[email protected]> wrote: > Frembgen, Jürgen Wasim, and Paul Rollier 2014. Wrestlers, pigeon fanciers, > and kite flyers: Traditional sports and pastimes in Lahore. New York: > Oxford University Press. 192 pp., ill. > In today's Pakistan the dominant conservative mindset tends to marginalize > leisure activities. However, traditional sports and pastimes, games and > play, entertainment and amusement are an expression of happiness and joy > and an integral part of popular culture. They represent a cultural system > and preserve cultural values. > The dimension of playfulness inherent in traditional sports and pastimes > is clearly articulated in the culture of the Punjab in general and of > Lahore in particular, especially in the Walled City. The popular pastimes > selected for this study, namely wrestling, flying pigeons and kite > fighting, are almost emblematic of the Walled City, an urban space where > wrestlers, pigeon fanciers and kite flyers appear to be the veritable > custodians of Lahori culture. > This is the first book that details these traditional sports and pastimes, > which, the authors argue, form an integral part of social life in Pakistan > and create important bonds between various communities. > > Best wishes, Asko > > On 17 Oct 2023, at 19.17, Dániel Balogh via INDOLOGY < > [email protected]> wrote: > > Dear Colleagues, > can anyone recommend (and perhaps share) any useful literature about kites > in India? I mean the ones with a bamboo frame that you fly on a string, not > the ones with feathers that fly themselves and eat rats. I'm mainly > interested in general overviews, about the history of Indian kites and > about kite flying, kite making and kite fighting in modern India, not so > much in any narrowly specialised details, but anything is welcome. I've > skimmed "A Kite Journey through India" by Tal Streeter and "A Different > Freedom" by Nikita Desai, but the former is far more interested in anecdote > than in checking and reporting any facts, while the latter, even while > being a mine of interesting detail, seems to be by and large a haphazard > and incoherent collection of poorly verified, often repetitive, usually > incomplete, and sometimes contradictory factoids. > In addition to generalities, I would be happy to learn if any of you have > come across references (or possible references) to kites in Sanskrit, or in > vernacular literature before the 16th century. For the former, I'm only > aware of the Pañcatantra story about the wooden Garuḍa, which is more a > flying machine than a kite. For the latter, I know about a verse by Nāmdev, > but no others. > Many thanks for any tips, > Dan > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology > > >
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