The Kite without a String

Art: Meressa Crasto, 12, Malaysia

Vikas loved science and adventure.

He hated traditions and anything that was old-fashioned.

He did not like to get dressed and visit relatives once a month with his parents as was the family tradition.

Instead, he liked to stay at home and watch TV or play on his computer.

One weekend, as usual, Vikas refused to go visiting with his parents. He made a big fuss and his parents were quite upset.  

Vikas did not go with them and decided to spend his time with Dadaji, his grandfather.

He liked to hear Dadaji’s stories. Dadaji had been a pilot in the Air Force and always had interesting anecdotes to share.

It was a fine evening and cool breeze blew gently from the sea.

“Let’s fly a kite” suggested Dadaji and brought out a colourful kite with a green tails.

Vikas and Dadaji launched the kite and watched it soar into the sky. It seemed like a giant bird in the sky. It climbed higher and higher but it could go only as much as the string would allow it to go.

“Dadaji” said Vikas “I think the string is holding the kite back. It cannot go any higher.”

Dadaji looked at Vikas straining to hold the string. He walked over and in one swift movement, cut the string off.

“Whoops!” exclaimed Vikas.

The big bright kite reached out to the clouds. From a giant bird, it became a butterfly flitting between the flowery clouds. Without a string to hold it back, it circled its way in the sky and danced in the breeze. Soon, it was just a tiny dot in the distance.

As Vikas and Dadaji narrowed their eyes to see it, they felt the breeze calm down. Without the wind to hold it up, the kite rapidly came down, struggled on a tree branch, and limply fell to the ground.

“Oh no!” said Vikas as he sat down and picked up the damaged kite.

Dadaji calmly walked over and sat down next to Vikas.

“Vikas” he said, “Do you know that we are also like this kite?”

Vikas looked up at him.

Dadaji continued, “When we are growing up, we feel that some things are not letting us grow any further... Things like some traditions at home, responsibilities in a family, and the bonds of culture. We long to be set free from these strings so that we can fly higher. We do not realise that these strings are the very things that will help us to stay stable at dizzying heights.

“If we try to break away from these strings, for a while we taste freedom and fly higher, but then we fall down.

“You see, Vikas, this is the reason why your parents take you to visit relatives and teach you our family traditions.”

Vikas nodded his head in understanding. 

(Retold)