Indeed, a treat for eyes! The comfortingly cool winter evening, as the sun sets the green grounds by the sea, across the road in front of Doha Port is getting crowded with people thronging on a Saturday evening. With a stage set with music and dance, and eating outlets set on the side of the clean, broad and beautifully laid walkway cum bicycle track, kites are already afloat in the air - most of them 'kite' shaped, and some of them inflated in the shape of cobra about to swallow up a rat... The FIFA festivities can now not stop!
It is the third
edition of the Balloon Fest in Qatar, and my effort to have a glance at it on
the Friday holiday failed. I attempted to drive to the venue, just about
6 kilometres away - but a bumper-to-bumper traffic, coupled with my well-defined
driving skills for Qatar roads, didn't let me to stop, find a parking lot and
explore. So, this time, it was on the most flexible, fast, non-polluting
bicycle, accompanied by a rare bicycle enthusiast among the Rajagiri
colleagues.
The balloons are
unimaginably big - for those who have not seen them in close quarters! When we
see them flying up in the air as a promotional stuff, we don't really get to
assess their size. It is really huge! They bring them in a kind of pick-up
van. It is folded in a box, apparently made up of or having an outer
casing of canes. About 5 ft high; 4 by 4 on the top and 3 by 3 at the bottom.
The box/or basket is unloaded from the van, then it is spread on the
ground. It takes almost 600 sq ft to my untrained eyes. Then air is blown
into it with a blower and fan, the huge cloth structure gradually gets
inflated, takes shape, still flat on the ground, and as the air fills in, it
swells in size, then hot air is blown into it from two powerful fire guns
connected to four extra sized gas cylinders. The huge fire-tongues don't
burn the balloon cloth. The giant balloon now gradually straightens up, while
swinging gently according to the wind. It looks huge, colourful,
attractive, fascinating. It could be as tall as a 3-storey building
(again assessment of untrained eyes). When the air cools down, the
'pilots' pump in hot air. And the swaying giants straighten up. The pickups
work as the base for a stay for the balloons.
There are about 50
ballooners from all over the world taking part in the festival lasting for ten
days. They come in rainbow colours. Most of them are in the typical
hot-air-balloon-shape; some shape into comical figures (which I can't make
out), one is in the shape of a grenade... There are no tickets for
viewing this great spectacle. How do they manage the show? It is told
that they are sponsored by various corporates - definitely Qatar Airways is
among them, apparently, festival city too.
We meet Riju from
Mahe, and Vishnu from Trivandrum, who have volunteered for the festival.
They are pooled from the volunteers’ club of Qatar. They spare some 6 to
8 hours in volunteering. It is not paid. Perhaps there are some
perks. But, above all it is the spirit of exploring and inquiry that lead
the volunteers to seek such opportunities. A Malayalee good will works,
and Riju lets me in to have a closer look at the blue giant from Cayman Island
piloted by Clive and his partner from England. They are busy keeping the
balloon lifted up, and I could not satiate my curiosity further.
The 'basket' which
houses the cylinders and the burners can hold four people; but when it takes to
flight in the morning, depending on wind conditions, it usually carries just 2
people.
Another miracle of
human creativity, combining art and adventure, the thrill of rising above and
floating with the elements, still trying not to be part of it!!
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