Mohammad Ahmed has been selling kites for the past 11 years, and he says he has never seen it so busy.

 

穆罕默德·艾哈迈德已经卖了11年风筝，他表示从未见过生意如此繁忙。

 

Sales at his shop in Delhi have soared over the past six months - thanks to coronavirus.

 

Mr Ahmed says that most days since India went into lockdown on 25 March he has restocked his shop with kites worth a total 150,000 rupees, only for them to sell out by the evening.

 

"I am tired of taking phone calls," he says. "Suddenly everybody has needed kites. I am still getting calls from all over the country - Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan... There is still so much demand that I am not able to fulfil it."

 

While Italians sang songs from their balconies and windows to boost morale when they were stuck at home due to Covid-19 restrictions, Indians flew kites from their terraces and roof tops.

 

Ahsan Khan, a seller in Mumbai, says, "The period between April and August is usually the leanest [for kite sales], but this year, I have sold about 500,000 kites [during that time]."

 

He adds that neighbouring Pakistan had also caught the kite-flying bug during its lockdown. "I am even getting calls from Karachi and Lahore in Pakistan, from people offering to pay me double the usual amount."