Today’s
Enlightening Entertainment
will be presented
in Dari and English,
with subtitles in Arabic,
Aulacese (Vietnamese),
Chinese, English,
French, German,
Indonesian, Japanese,
Korean, Malay, Persian,
Portuguese, Russian,
Spanish and Thai.
Welcome,
spirited viewers.
The beauty of a kite
dancing in the sky
is a sight to behold.
In Afghanistan,
flying kites is more than
just a favorite pastime
but a time-honored,
popular cultural tradition.
A soaring kite is
like the carefree spirit
of the Afghan heart.
Today we will meet
a fabulous kite master
from Afghanistan,
Mr. Basir Beria, who lives
in Los Angeles, USA.
He devotes his free time
to teaching others
how to fly a kite.
His fine handmade kites
are exhibited at
the Kite Museum in
Washington DC, USA.
In addition, Mr. Beria
helped to create
the Golden Globe
and Oscar-nominated
Hollywood film,
“The Kite Runner,”
which showed
Mr. Beria’s splendid kites
and thus introduced
the world to this
Afghan sport and culture.
In his personal life,
the simple act of
flying a kite could relieve
his deepest sorrow
and give him peace.
Mr. Basir Beria has
a pure, undivided love
for kites.
You see, there are
so many things.
It’s a meditation.
It kind of makes you
to calm down.
You take in a breath,
and you look in the sky.
You’re just
in your own world.
I dance with my kites.
I dance and
I connect myself,
every move with my kite.
Kites, it’s going to
give you that energy,
and you give them
that energy back.
And you feel good.
Mr. Basir Beria was born
in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Flying kites was
a main hobby for him,
his brother and
neighborhood friends.
If you go
in the United States,
open your garage,
I can find a baseball bat.
In Afghanistan, you
end up in my garage,
probably you find tissue
paper, bamboo, glass,
because we’re going to
use that one for our kite
to build.
Every Afghan builds kites.
Me, personally, I always
say to my old friends,
I eat kite, I drink kite,
I sleep kite.
I do everything with kites.
Somehow it’s in me;
I’m the luckiest one.
To the grateful, humble
craftsman, the technology
of the kite is a gift
for the world.
So is Mr. Beria’s talent.
In 2006, Mr. Beria was
invited by a producer of
DreamWorks Pictures
to help create
“The Kite Runner,”
a 2007 film
by DreamWorks and
Paramount Classic based
on the award-winning
novel of the same title by
the Afghan-born writer
Kahled Hosseini.
Kite runners are those
who run to collect
prized kites that fall
during a kite match,
predicting from afar
where they would land.
I fly a kite
in the major street during
the busiest crowd time.
And I was surrounded
with all those power lines,
and they said, “Can you
fly a kite from here?”
I said, “Why not?”
And I fly my kite
from there.
“How in the world
you can fly a kite which is
all the line and all trees
and all the houses
right there?”
“That’s Afghan kites.
They can fly from
anywhere they want.”
Joining the movie crew
as kite master, Mr. Beria
brought 100 kites that
he personally made and
committed to
a 15-week trip to the film
set in western China,
where the landscape
resembles Afghanistan.
Mr. Beria proceeded to
teach 150 kids how to
fly kites for the film’s
impressive backdrop.
I did it from my heart.
I hope people like
the action of the kite.
I don’t know about
the story too much,
but I involved myself to
concentrate whatever
it comes to the kite.
Kites’ talk, whatever
they’re using those
little words, the kids,
the right way.
The way you emotionally
you have to say,
“Straighten
your lines up!”
or using those words to
fit in that moment
for those kids.
I have to focus
the kite back in ’77.
What was the shape,
what was the color
the people using.
I’m proud to say
I did it and we did it.
And Marc Forster,
the director of the movie,
he’s happy
the way we did it
and everybody’s happy
the way we finished it,
and thanks God again for
that kind of opportunity.
Please stay tuned to
Supreme Master
Television.
We will find out more
about kite making
with Mr. Basir Beria,
the great kite master
from Afghanistan.
There is a word,
people in United States,
when they don’t like
something, they said,
“Go fly a kite,
my friend.”
(Yeah, that’s right.)
For me, if somebody
said, “Go fly a kite,”
(It’s a blessing.)
I am going to jump
and I give him a hug.
(Wow, that’s wonderful.)
That’s how I feel
about the kites.
(Go fly a kite!)
Go fly a kite.
Welcome back to
Enlightening Entertainment.
For Afghan kite master
Mr. Basir Beria, training
the Kashgar children
in kite flying for the
highly acclaimed film,
“The Kite Runner,”
was an unforgettable
experience.
However,
while he was proud to
walk the red carpet
with his family
to the film’s premiere
and watch his kites
soaring on the big screen,
the real reward was
much greater than
the movie itself.
So we were practicing
every day
for like a month.
One day, it was
after a break time.
Because they’re working
hard too, you know.
I saw a little boy,
he was excited but
he was running to me,
he’s coming,
And I was saying, I hope
he doesn’t hurt himself.
They call me teacher.
“Mahalim, mahalim.
“Teacher, teacher.
Mahalim.”
I said,
“What’s happening,
what’s happened?”
He had something
in his hand.
Teacher, I found
something,”
I said what?
Look it, it’s beautiful.
I said, “What is it?”
He opened his hand.
That stone shaped like
of a kite.
You see the metal bar,
you see the top bow,
(Wow.) the lines
and shape of a kite.
And I look and I was
really surprised.
I said, “You see,
my friend, you’re
a good kite flyer.
You see, God gave you
your trophy already.
He said, “No no no no,
Teacher. That’s for you.
(Wow.)
You’re my teacher.
I bring down one for you.”
That’s for me
was the highest trophy
for a man can get.
It was created by God.
(Yes.)
It was natural, (Wow.)
it was given it to you,
that’s a little boy,
not a minister,
not a president of
DreamWorks.
And I said,
“You know what?
I got my right trophy,
designed by God,
created by God,
in the cleanliest hands
is the child, the kid.
That means to me a lot.
The kite was invented
in China two thousand
some years ago.
The sport of kites,
however, took kite flying
to the next level
with exciting matches
in the sky.
It originated from India
long ago
before becoming popular
in Afghanistan.
Imagine, you are flying
kites 300 feet high,
and you just want to –
right now, right away.
It’s not electricity,
it’s just line.
You want to give it
a left spin,
spinning it to the left.
How it’s going to work?
You see, that’s why
the cotton lines are
the quickest line that can
give response to the kite.
If you just give him
a little signal,
just a little touch,
the kite responds quickly.
In the Afghan kite sport,
two flyers try to
pull the other’s kite
from the sky by wrapping
one’s kite string around
the opponent’s kite’s
string and severing it.
The strong glass-coated
cord attached to the kite
holds the secret
of the Afghan kite.
So this is the line that
you actually use
for kite flying.
Those are the lines.
We call it
“Taar-e-Sheesha,”
which is sheesha
means the glass.
Glass-coated taar.
It’s very simple.
We grind the glass
as much as possible
to become like
a face powder.
And we cook it with rice,
and there are so many
little things, you know,
it’s kind of secret.
We mix it, we cook it,
and we coat it
on top of the lines.
And that’s the lines
everybody in Afghanistan
is using.
They have their own
secrets, some of them.
They never share it.
I share it, a little bit of it,
but not all of it.
I have to keep some
of the secrets which
I learned from a person.
He was one of
the best kite flyers in the
Afghan society. (Wow.)
World-known person.
I can’t break that,
that’s very strong.
It’s an over
120-pound line.
And that line,
it’s an 11-pound line.
You want to see
the sharpness.
If you want to hold that
line, I want to cut it.
I want to show you
how that line is going cut
that line. For example…
Wow, just a few inches
rubbing across.
You see, that one is not
glass-coated, look at
how rough it is. (Oh.)
You cannot match me,
my friend. (I cannot.)
Colorful kites dotting the
sky in a US kite festival
create a scene that
brings back memories
of childhood delight
in Afghanistan.
Peace be upon you,
cherished Father!
Peace be upon you,
my son.
How are you?
Cherished Dad.
Thanks my son.
It's cold weather
and there is also
wind blowing.
How much information
do you have about
kite flying?
My son, I was about
ten years old
when I was flying kites.
Okay.
Then we would go to
Sakhi Festivals, Danjaba,
Tahmaba, and then there
we would fly kites, and
compete with them,
and whoever became
the champion,
then he was so. Yeah.
Well, May God grant you
health and harmony...
May He grant harmony
to the whole
Afghanistan…
In Afghanistan
the moment a kite falls
to the ground,
the boys catch and take it,
and here, as much as
we fly it, we go
and take back our kite.
The sky is full of
kites and occupied,
everyone is happy.
It’s green.
May God make
our country peaceful
so that it’s green
and in peace.
It raises the memories
of youth.
I was a little boy,
we got the little frame
of China Great Wall.
I was always thinking
about it,
it is so beautiful to go
and fly a kite and release.
Look at the landscape
of that Wall.
You can release it
as much as you can!
But I never thought
it’s going to happen.
Four years ago, one day,
I end up right on top
of the Great Wall,
and flying the kite,
and I said, “Oh, God!”
(Wow.)
You see, never give up,
always there is a door,
always there is
an opening.
Always there is hope
for the Afghan people.
Thank you
Mr. Basir Beria
for the feelings of love,
kindness, and happiness
you impart in everyone
through the special realm
of the kites.
We join in your wish
that our world will
come together in the
same harmonious spirit
of a kite festival.
I wish to every kid, and
everybody in the world,
to have a peaceful life.
Be outside and fly a kite.
As somebody says,
“Go fly a kite!”
give them a hug,
don’t get upset.
Just give them a hug and
say, “Let’s go fly a kite.”
Noble viewers, we
enjoyed your presence
today on
Enlightening Entertainment.
Up next is
Words of Wisdom,
after Noteworthy News,
here on
Supreme Master Television.
May your heart be
forever happy and free
like a flying kite.
From the King…
Who reigns over kings,
The Holy One
blessed is He
Welcome.
Naguila brings together
Muslim and Jewish
musicians and carries
a message, the message
of love and peace
to the whole world.
Bless me for peace
O angels of peace,
All are welcome here,
all who want to hear
music of our fathers,
music of the synagogue.
Join us on Wednesday,
July 21 and 28
for a two-part series
on Enlightening
Entertainment,
featuring the renowned
Naguila Ensemble,
a Judeo-Arabic band that
harmoniously blends
the sacred music traditions
of both cultures.