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Indonesia: The 'Jaya Jagannatha' Kite
A letter from Sadashiva dasa to Kavicandra Swami
Posted September 27, 2004

Denpasar, 25 July 2004.

Dear Guru Maharaja, please accept my most humble obeisances under your holy lotus feet.

Guru Maharaja, the kite competition on Thursday 22 July 2004 conducted at Padang Galak beach was wonderful. The Jay Jagannatha kite was made by Parasurama dasa Prabhu's group in Canggu, with Sundar Govinda dasa Prabhu as a painter. The kite was 7 meters wide with a 200-meter tail donated by Ida Bagus Ugrasena, the owner of the Maharani Hotel at Kuta. He and his wife came to the kite competition, and it was he who made it possible for us to take part in the competition.

Jay Jagannatha was the biggest and the longest kite there. The kite competition is divided into two groups:

1. Traditional kites, such as the pecukan with only two angles, the bebean in the form of a fish, and the janggan kite with a long tail and a beak like a dragon);

2. New creations, such as Jay Jagannatha, capung (dragonfly), ikan louhan (louhan fish), naga (dragon), padmasana (shrine), aircraft, and so on.

Many kite groups participated in the competition both from the traditional and new creation groups, and Jay Jagannatha was the last kite registered, so it got the number 999. This triple nine is considered auspicious in Indonesia, so the devotees were happy, seeing this as Sri Jagannatha's mercy. Therefore we joyfully chanted "Jay Jagannath" and the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra.

Not many devotees attended, but our group attracted a lot of attention from the spectators. They liked hearing the chanting of the "Jagannatha Swami nayana patha gami" song and the Hare Krishna mahamantra with the traditional Indian instruments (harmonium, mrdanga, and cymbals).

Besides that, most of the devotees were wearing Sri Jagannath T-shirts that matched the kite, and we also had a red Sri Jagannath flag.

When the time came to fly the Jay Jagannath kite, it was already 3:00 p.m. The wind was blowing just right, and the sun was shining brightly. Jay Jagannath took off fast and smashed the dragonfly and louhan-fish kites. The louhan kite was hanging on the string of Jay Jagannath, so we had to pull Jay Jagannath down to remove it. Then Jay Jagannath went up again, and we were joyfully singing "Jay Jagannath" while it flew in the sky.

After 20 minutes, it made a smooth landing, and we all happily left the competition area. After that we took photos with IB Ugrasena and his wife with the kite in the background. That is the kite news.

Your servant of the servant,
Sadashiva dasa.

© dipika.org September 27, 2004