The Wau

Recently my friend gave me a kite. It was no ordinary kite.

It was a Wau. Yes, you pronounce it as "wow"! This is a kite design hailing from the state of Kelantan in Malaysia. You should see the sky over Kelantan during the kite flying season! Simply delightful.

Some of you or most of you would have heard of the tragic losses of two Malaysia Airlines planes this year. As you are well aware, one was lost to the sea, and the other to a missile. Well, the logo of my nation's national airline is the Wau.

But I'm not here to talk about that, neither to contribute to the pool of conspiracy theories that abound on the internet regarding MH370 and MH17 respectively.

Rather, I'm thinking about how a kite needs the wind to take flight. And a sturdy and generous length of string. An open space on a breezy afternoon. The kite needs the wind as much as a fish needs water. It needs the wind to oppose it and with the string held in skilful hands, the Wau is launched into the blue sky in no time at all.

Can you recall your days of kite flying?

I recall in my childhood, how my spirit seems to soar as the kite roars through the heavens, the stronger the wind the better! The sky was the limit or so it seems. Actually the string is the limit. And that brings a perfect close to a child's afternoon memories.

No, I have not flown a kite for more than 20 or more years. But I've been told to "go fly a kite", and I know it was not meant literally. But I'd been happy to do so literally, and thus relive my childhood!

This Wau you see here is not flyable. It's a souvenir gift item. But when I think of it, I can feel my spirit soar once more in a time that seemed a life time away.

So, go and fly a kite - no offence intended. Fly your kite in your backyard, at your park, by the beach, or at the very least, in your memory and in your dreams!