My Kite Runner

I was standing on the terrace, facing west, holding the camera close to my eye and capturing the sun's rays piercing through the thick clouds. The effect was splendid, the golder rays against the pale clouds, the weather was pleasant after a heavy shower in the afternoon. A cool breeze was blowing and there a few birds soaring high in the sky and a few kites.

Suddenly I hear a voice, "Didi, didi patang kahaan hai?''

There was a tiny boy, in a white vest and dark shorts, waiting eagerly for me to answer. I look at him and point at a black kite flying in the sky. He looks up and then looks at me, ''Arre wo nahi, wo jo kat kar gayi thi wo'', he retorts after my stupid response.

Realising that I won't be of any help he starts looking around and finally finds it. He picks it up and yells, "Mil gayi!!" He then jumps over a few walls and disappears. I go back to to clicking pictures. A few minutes later, I hear the same voice again, "Didi, main bhi patang uda raha hoon!" I look towards him, and see him fervently pulling at the strings, and trying to lift off the kite in the air. Unfortunately, the winds don't seem to assist him but he keeps trying again and again. He sucks in some air, jerks at the string and forces the kite forward. And again. Minutes pass. And then suddenly, a gust of wind comes and the kite's flying high in the sky. He looks at me gleefully, his expression, asking me to capture his accomplishment. And I click.

How pleasing is a child's innocence, happiness and free spirit. There's a sense of assurance, a sense of purity and divinity that a child carries around him and within him. And when you embrace the child (through hugs or kisses or words or in my case clicking photos), you get to experience the same free spirit that livens up the young soul.

p.s. I wish I could post the pics I clicked that day, but sadly they are lying far away, thousands of miles away, in some hard drive :(

The picture you see in the post has been taken from here.

p.p.s. This incident happened long before I read The Kite Runner. It is in no way related to the novel, except for the title of the post!