Growing up in Kampong Kembangan - Featuring Kite Fighting
We used to fly kites competitively in Kampong Kembangan in the 1970's
During kite fighting days we would make our kite strings sharp in order to cut off opponents' kites in a very exciting game. We would smear our strings with finely crushed glass and rice glue to make it sharp. We would be careful not to cut ourselves while preparing our weaponry.
Usually, more often during Saturday afternoons rather than any other times, we could see the sky littered with many multicoloured kites. Many of these kites were small, made of taut tracing paper and were usually sold at the provision shop: twenty pieces for ten cents in a packet. The frames of these kites were made of vein of coconut palm frond called “lidi” in Malay.
When the battle of the skies began, we would spot the most aggressive kites and wait for it to cut down the strings of other kites. When that happens, anyone can lay claim to the ill fated kite. A foray - a free for all chase for the kite - would inevitably ensue.
The word “Hanyuuuuuuuuuuuuut!” would fill the air, and the exciting chase for the kite would begin.
The first kind of “hanyut” - Malay for gone with (in this case) the wind - occurs when a string has been cut by one which belongs to different kite. For this type of “hanyut”, it is ok to keep the kite if you get hold of it if you are able to outrun the hoard of kids giving chase to the same kite in the first place!
However, if the kite were to fly off from the hands of the owner, the unwritten rule would be to return the kite to the owner. One would return the kite which has gotten out of control of the owner presumably due to strong winds or if the owner for some reason or other loses control of the kite
It's in the thrill of the chase which was the reward for most of the kids, never mind if someone else gets hold of the kite. It’s a bonus if you can beat fifty other kids to get the kite. In so many kite chases during my childhood, I manage to grab hold of less than ten kites. I was a pretty fast kid then. Even then, at least one of them was torn because a half a dozen hands grabbed hold of the same kite at the same time! Those that I managed to keep, I would fly them again and again.
I remember there was the haunted house located at the top of the hill at end of Jalan Senang, so called because it had large columns and also had gigantic cobwebs covering it. And no, I don't think it was haunted. It's actually looked like an old abandoned Chinese style mansion with huge columns more than anything else. It's just a dilapidated old mansion. But we liked to call it the haunted house and make up stories about it just for fun.
The haunted house demarcates the end of the kite flying zone. Just beyond it laid Kaki Bukit.
