Thousands of kites once filled the skies above India's cities. Today the tradition is dying out

Kite flying was once a cherished tradition in many parts of India, with people crowding the rooftops during kite festivals. But recent heatwaves and a number of deaths due to illegal kite strings have seen many abandoning the once popular pastime.

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Many people find it hard to invest their time and money in kites. The kite-sellers of Lal Kuan, a wholesale market in Old Delhi, know this all too well. There used to be more than 20 kite shops here. Now, just five remain.

"It was good in the beginning. There was a good sale of kites back in those days," says Mohammad Khalid, a kite seller in the market. His shop, opened by his father in 1972, is stuffed full of colourful kites, some with cartoon figures on them. But now, he says, his business seems to decline with each passing day. "Only during festivals, especially during Independence Day, do people come here to buy kites. It has become an occasional thing now."

"Mobile, internet, and TV" are to blame, he adds. But so too are rising temperatures in India, a symptom of climate change. Heatwaves increasingly force people to shelter indoors, says Khalid. It's no weather for flying kites.

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