Hyderabad: ‘Kite couple’ Ron and Baew Spaulding, internationally recognised over their 40-year career of flying kites, took part in Telangana’s first International Kite Festival at the Aga Khan Academy campus. The couple’s Spaulding ‘Thailand Octopus’, was a hit.
Mr Spaulding said, “Kite flying is our passion. We did not turn it into a business. We spent 40 years travelling to different countries to participate in kite festivals. We make our own kites. For the TS festival I made a kite in the shape of an octopus of around 35 metres. It does not have sticks. We made a tent in a shape of a butterfly for seating. One has to have immense passion and spend time to understand the aerodynamics of kite flying.”
“This is our fifth trip to India. In 2014 we organised a kite festival in Goa and Pune,” said Ms Baew Spaulding.
In March 2011, the couple was applauded as the world’s best kite festival organisers by the South Korean city of Uiseong.
Mr Spaulding’s Thai Kite Heritage Group, set up more than 20 years ago, takes traditional kite masters and makers abroad.
