9. The Kites We Made

Kites soaring in the sky

Kite-fighting was one of the best parts of our childhood. We didn’t buy kites - we made them ourselves, and half the fun was in the making.

First, we went hunting for bamboo, cutting them down and shaping them, to get the right balance of strength and flexibility. Then came the tricky part - tying the bamboo sticks into place using thread ‘borrowed’ from Mum’s sewing kit. Balance was everything - one wrong knot on the frame and the kite would tilt.

When the frame felt just right, we laid it over sheets of kite paper and trimmed out the perfect shape. A bit of glue, some patience, and soon a kite began to take form. But, a plain kite wasn’t good enough. We painted colours, symbols, and designs that showed our pride, for when the kite soared, everyone in the neighbourhood knew whose it was.

But the real thrill came from preparing the kite string for the battle in the sky. We smashed old fluorescent tubes, ground the glass into powder, and mixed it with glue and thread. The thread was boiled with the glass powder and glue, dried in the sun, and wound onto a cigarette tin.

Finally when the day came, we ran across open fields, tugging and releasing the string until the kite caught the wind. Slowly, it rose higher and higher, wobbling at first, then gliding steadily up as we guided it. The higher it flew, the stronger the pull on our hands. Then the battles began – kites soaring and strings scraping with one another, until one kite snapped free and tumbled down. The last kite still flying was the winner.

Every victory in the sky felt like a huge triumph, and every loss only made us eager to build a better, stronger kite the next time around.

Cheah Eng Seng

7th September 2025