Hyderabad’s local manja makers struggle to make ends meet
They hardly have any work to do with Covid hitting businesses hard and machine-made manja flooding market
Hyderabad: Holding a blue pulpy mixture in one hand, Raju steadily applies it to a bunch of strings and simultaneously responding to requests of photographers who click him in action.
Raju, in his mid-50s, is from just a handful of manja makers (kite strings) who are continuing with the vocation, which has fallen out of favour and appears to be set for its final days.
“I have been into the vocation for the last three decades, and I am a testimony to all the ups and downs of the manja-making business. Now I tell you, after a few years, you won’t find the activity anywhere anymore. Only machine-made manja will be sold in the market,” he said. The craftsmen attribute various factors for the slow death of what was once an immensely popular cottage industry.
“This year due to Covid-19, there has been literally no business for us. Small kite traders who set up shops in localities have not placed orders with us due to the uncertainty this year, so there is absolutely no work,” said Sufiyan, a second-generation manja maker.
His father had set up the manja unit in 1972 and the tradition continues. “My father was popularly known as ‘Shaik Bhai’. Previously, we had 18 craftsmen working with us. With hardly any work now, only three people, including I, are here,” he says, adding that a few years ago, the works would start in July.
“Except for rainy days, we had work throughout the monsoon, and it continued in the wintry months too, without time even to relax,” he recalled.
He attributes the fall in business to ‘Chinese manja’, popular as tango kite lines, that have been flooding the market. “Officials are raiding local shops and seizing Chinese manja. But traders somehow smuggle and sell it,” Sufiyan complained.
Apart from this, traders are also facing competition from manja made in big companies in Uttar Pradesh, particularly from Bareilly. “’Imported’ manja is flooding traditional kite markets in the old city, including Hussaini Alam, Dhoolpet and Gulzar Houz. It is a bit cheaper compared to local manja as it is machine-made and large quantities are produced in one go,” explained Iqbal Bhai, another manja maker.
Now only two families are continuing with the manja-making business in the Dabeerpura area, where previously a dozen-odd families were in the game. Jahangir Ali, who previously was engaged in the vocation, now confines himself to selling kites in wholesale to traders. “Three generations of our family were associated with the vocation. We left it due to dwindling earnings and difficulty in getting workers for the strenuous job,” he said.
Ban on Chinese manja reduces bird injuries
With the strict ban on Chinese manja, incidents of birds getting trapped and fatally injured have decreased, thanks to the efforts of the Forest Department and voluntary organisations in Hyderabad.
Dattatreya Joshi of People For Animals (PFA) said for the last few years, the group, along with forest officials, was conducting surprise inspections at different places in the city leading to the seizure of a huge quantity of the synthetic thread. “We have sent our volunteers to identify places where the synthetic manja is being sold. We will rescue birds injured by manja,” he said.
A ban was imposed by the government on procurement, stocking, sale and use of Chinese manja or other synthetic (non-biodegradable) thread, which is coated with glass or other harmful substances. The decision was taken after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed a blanket ban on Chinese manja across India. The NGT directed State forest officials to prohibit manufacture, sale, store, purchase and use of synthetic manja and all other similar threads for kite flying.
As per Section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act, the violaters are liable to be punished with imprisonment up to five years or with a fine up to Rs 1 lakh or with both. In addition to this, causing injury or death to wild animals and birds with synthetic manja amounts to hunting and is punishable under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, with an imprisonment of three to seven years and a fine of not less than Rs 10,000.
Teams to enforce ban on synthetic manja
Forest officials and voluntary organisations are determined to enforce the ban on sale and use of Chinese manja or synthetic manja.
The authorities have decided to set up teams comprising forest officials and representatives of NGOs who will create awareness and ensure the ban is implemented across Hyderabad and other urban areas. Already, letters have been issued to all District Collectors, Superintendents of Police, Conservators, District Forest Officers to implement the ban. The Forest Department will also supply posters to all NGOs and volunteers in English, Telugu and Urdu.
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