ABOUT US
PROFILE OF GOLDEN KITE CLUB
Golden Kite Club, Mumbai, India was founded in 1973 by Mr. Dilip R. Kapadia with the aim of participating in Local, State and All India Kite Cutting Competitions. In 1977, Golden Kite Club bagged the 1st Prize at the All India Kite Cutting Competition conducted by the Federation of All India Kite Flying Clubs at Moradabad, U.P. Since then, the Club has participated in various Kite Competitions at Local Level, State Level, All India Level and International Level, either as participants or as judges, judging the events.
Dilip R. Kapadia was a consultant to the Government of India and the Government of Gujarat for kick starting the 1st Ahmedabad International Kite Festival which was held in January 1989 and saw just 5 foreign participants. So far there have been 27 International Kite Festivals at Ahmedabad and the number of foreign participants has gradually swelled to more then 100.
During these Festivals, the talent of our club members impressed the Foreign participants - many of the foreign participants recommended the Club members for inviting and sponsoring us at their International Kite Festivals. This led to our participation in International Kite Festivals at Canada, France, Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, Germany, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc. Golden Kite Club has won prizes at Kite Cutting Competitions at the 1st World Cup of Fighter Kites at Dieppe (France, 1996), Korea Kite Cutting Competition (Korea, 1997), Saclay International Kite Festival (France, 1998), German Masters Kite Festival (Germany, 2000), Vung Tao Kite Festival (Vietnam 2010), etc.
All this exposure has resulted in a wide variety of collection of different types of Indian Kites, various types of Fighter Kites from different parts of the world, a variety of spools ('Firkis') and to add to all this Large Foreign type of kites made from fabric called rip stop nylon (parachute / umbrella material) in different shapes and dimensions like a Cobra Kite with head of 5 feet and 100 feet tail, Black Crow Kite 9 feet wide, Kite Train with more than 150 kites on 1 line, 3D Box Kites, Inflatable kites without any sticks and no wind kites which can be flown indoors.
Most of these kites are made by our club members and the others have been exchanged or gifted to us. We conduct and organize 'Kite Making Workshops', 'Kite Flying Festivals' and 'Indoor Kite Exhibitions'.
Golden Kite Club had the honour of being 'Kite Consultants' at a Pepsi commercial featuring Bollywood Superstar, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan and Cricket Maestro, Mr. Sachin Tendulkar. Also, the kite flying shots at the 'Neelanjana' television serial of '9X' Channel were conducted by Golden Kite Club. The kite related shots in the commercial film 'Yeh Khula Aasmaan' were done by Golden Kite Club and this film won an Award at the All Sports Los Angeles Film Festival in 2010. Our President, Dilip R. Kapadia has been felicitated by the erstwhile Chief Minister of Gujarat and current Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi on several occasions and we have the honour of our kites being flown by him.
OUR TEAM
In terms of number of members, Golden Kite Club is one of the Biggest Kite Clubs in India. The core team comprises of the following members:
Dilip R. Kapadia - Founder President of Golden Kite Club & International Kite Flyer
Hailed by the media as 'The King of Kites', 'Bollywood Kite Designer' and 'Encyclopedia on Kites', Dilip R. Kapadia is a kite flyer and an Indian style kite fighter. Flying kites since the age of 4, he has 77 years’ experience in kite flying. He was instrumental in conducting a kite cutting competition for the Indian Navy at the Navy Week celebrations in 1981 and 1982.
He was a consultant to the Government of Gujarat when it decided to start its First International Kite Festival in Ahmedabad in 1989. He has been appointed as Chief Judge for various kite competitions at the National as well as International levels. His inputs have helped to put the Ahmedabad International Kite Festival on the world map. He won the German Masters Kite Cutting Competition in 2000 and the first prize at the Vietnam International Kite Festival in 2010. He has also written an article on kites called the 'Traditional Kite Festivals of India'. He was crowned 'The Knight of Manjhas' by the Manjha Club International in 1996. He is a member of 'American Kite Flyers Association' and 'Manjha Club International' since the last many years. Professionally, Mr. Kapadia is in the car-rental business.
Shayzaday Abbas - Captain & International Kite Flyer, Golden Kite Club
He too is a kite flyer and Indian style kite fighter. He is Internationally known as the 'Dashing' Abbasbhai for his Lucknowi art of kite cutting. He was the finalist at the First World Cup of Fighter Kites at Dieppe, France in 1996. He is also a kite consultant for kite competitions and kite festivals. He has worked hand-in-hand with Mr. Kapadia to promote Golden Kite Club. He is the key person to project Golden Kite Club before Bollywood.
The Indian Hindi movie 'Yeh Khula Aasmaan' won an award at the All Sports Los Angeles Film Festival & also at the ‘Kids First Film & Video Festival’ and he has played a very important role in directing and implementing the kite shots for the film. Professionally, he is into hand embroidery, making designer dresses and sarees for fashion shows and for weddings.
Abdul Rauf - Internationally famous Kite Maker & International Kite Flyer, Golden Kite Club
Commonly known as Abdul, he is a kite maker of International repute and an International Kite Flyer. He started his career as an automobile mechanic and then got into driving buses and taxis. He later joined his father, who had a kite shop in Mumbai. This is when he came in touch with Mr. Kapadia and Mr. Abbas, who coaxed him to develop the art of kite making and mentored him.
By virtue of his hard work and dedication to kite making, he is what he is today. He conducts kite making workshops in India as well as Internationally. 'Abdul Kites' are sought all over the world. He makes excellent Train Kites, Fighter Kites, Designer Kites, and Collector Kites.
Deepak Kapadia - Secretary & International Kite Flyer, Golden Kite Club
Following his father, Dilip Kapadia's footsteps, Deepak is a well known kite flyer Internationally. He loves to fly various designer kites and is an expert in flying 'Kite Trains' and 'Night Flying' including LED Kites and Illuminated Kite Trains. He conducts kite making workshops along with Abdul.
He was also the Kite Consultant for a Pepsi commercial featuring Mr. Amitabh Bachchan and Mr. Sachin Tendulkar. Deepak is a Real Estate, Rent-a-Car & Automobile Consultant.