疫情期間意大利人在陽臺高歌 而印度人熱衷於放風箏

疫情期間意大利人在陽臺上放聲歌唱，而印度人則熱衷於放風箏。據報道，往年的風箏淡季在今年反而成了旺季，放風箏成爲了隔離在家的印度人爲數不多的消遣活動。

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·艾哈邁德已經賣了11年風箏，他表示從未見過生意如此繁忙。

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

過去六個月他在德里的風箏店銷量大漲，這都是拜疫情所賜。

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.

艾哈邁德說，自從印度在3月25日實行封鎖以後，他每天都要補充總價15萬盧比（約合人民幣13987元）的風箏庫存，但大多數時候總是不到天黑就賣光了。

"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."

他說：“我接電話都接煩了。突然之間每個人都需要風箏。我還在不停地接到來自全國各地的電話，馬哈拉施特拉邦、泰米爾納德邦、拉賈斯坦邦……需求量依然這麼大，我都沒法滿足了。”

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.

由於疫情限制措施而不得不待在家裏的意大利人在陽臺上和窗前唱歌來鼓舞士氣，而印度人則在自家露臺和屋頂上放風箏。

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]."

孟買的一名賣家阿赫桑·汗表示：“四月到八月期間通常是風箏銷售的淡季，但今年我卻（在這一期間）賣出了約50萬隻風箏。”

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."

他還說道，鄰國巴基斯坦也在封鎖期間掀起了放風箏的熱潮。“我甚至接到了來自巴基斯坦卡拉奇和拉合爾的電話，那裏的人們提出用雙倍價錢買我的風箏。”

Kite-flying has been a popular pastime in India for centuries, with historians saying that it was introduced to the country by Chinese travellers.

幾個世紀以來，放風箏在印度一直是廣受歡迎的消遣活動，歷史學家稱放風箏是由中國旅人引進的。

It is however, usually a seasonal activity in India. In most parts of the country sales peak around the festival of Makar Sankranti - celebrated on 14 January to mark the beginning of spring and harvest season.

不過，在印度，放風箏通常是一種季節性活動。在印度的多數地區，風箏銷量會在馬卡爾·桑克蘭蒂節前後達到高峯。1月14日慶祝的馬卡爾·桑克蘭蒂節是爲了紀念春天和收穫季節的開始。

The tradition of kite-flying has long been associated with this festival, with the western state of Gujarat organising an international kite festival on the same day.

長期以來，放風箏的傳統一直和這個節日相關聯，印度西部的古吉拉特邦會在同一天舉行國際風箏節。

Preparations for this begin months earlier, with kite-makers from other parts of the country going to Gujarat, and the city of Mumbai, just to the south, to lend their expertise in making India's traditional brightly-coloured paper kites.

國際風箏節的籌備工作在數月前就會開始，來自印度其他地區的風箏製作者會聚集到古吉拉特邦和古吉拉特邦以南的孟買市，貢獻自己的才藝來製作印度傳統的色彩鮮豔的紙風箏。

Some other festivals, like Basant Panchami and Pahela Baishakh, keep up the demand in northern India till April, after which sales start to fall. They then recover just before 15 August when India celebrates its Independence Day.

其他的一些節日，比如知識節和孟歷新年，會讓印度北部對風箏的需求高峯持續到四月份，之後銷量就開始下降。風箏銷量在8月15日印度慶祝獨立日前又會重新開始上漲。

But this year, the coronavirus lockdown has kept the kite industry very busy during its usual lean months. Even after the lockdown began being eased in stages from June to the end of August, children, mostly boys, kept the demand high as the schools remained shut.

但在今年，疫情封鎖卻讓風箏行業在往年的淡季異常繁忙。即使在六月到八月底的這段時間，封鎖措施開始放鬆，但由於學校依然關閉，孩子們（以男孩爲主）依然讓風箏需求量居高不下。

"You couldn't go out, you couldn't take your children to the park, so people resorted to kite-flying to pass their time," says Shahida Rehman, who manages a kite business with her son in Mumbai.

在孟買和兒子一起經營風箏生意的沙希達·拉赫曼說：“你不能出去，也不能帶孩子去公園，所以人們只能放風箏來消磨時間。”

Although in one or two India cities and towns kite flying ended up being banned during the lockdown because authorities were concerned that neighbours all going out on their terraces could transmit the virus to each other, overall it was allowed and sales boomed.

儘管在封鎖期間有一兩個印度城鎮禁止放風箏，原因是當局擔心鄰居們都跑到露臺上會相互傳播病毒，但總體上還是允許放風箏的，風箏銷量也非常好。

The Indian kite-making sector was said to be worth $85m in 2018. While it exports around the world, sales are dominated by the vast home market.

印度的風箏製造業據稱在2018年價值達8500萬美元（約合人民幣5.8億元）。儘管出口到世界各地，但本土市場的銷量還是佔多數。

But while it is boys and young men who do most of the flying, the industry is heavily dependent on women workers. Tens of thousands of them, often accompanied by their children and other family members, work from their homes around the country, cutting, crafting and designing kites.

雖然放風箏的大多是男孩和年輕男子，但該行業嚴重依賴於女性勞工。印度各地數以萬計的女性在自己家中（往往帶着孩子和其他家庭成員）剪裁、製作和設計風箏。

Hiba is one such manufacturer. She can make up to 50 kites per day with her sister at their home in the city of Bareilly, some 250km east of Delhi. The big rise in demand during the lockdown has boosted their income, as both the sales and prices of kites rose.

伊巴就是這樣的一個製作者。她每天在巴雷利市（德里以東大約250公里處）的家中和妹妹一起可以製作出多達50只風箏。封鎖期間需求量大漲增加了她們收入，因爲風箏的銷量和價格都上升了。

The cost of a simple paper and wood kite doubled from 10 rupees to 20 rupees.

用紙和木頭製成的簡單風箏的成本爲10盧比到20盧比。

Mohammad Ashraf, a kite-seller in Bareilly, says that despite not being able to open his store in the early, most strict stages of the lockdown, he sold more than 200,000 rupees worth of kite before August.

巴雷利的一名風箏賣家穆罕默德·阿什拉夫表示，儘管在早期封鎖措施最嚴格的時候他不能開店，但他在八月前賣出了價值超20萬盧比的風箏。

"This year changed everything," he says. "It has been a extra income bonanza."

“今年一切都改變了，”他說，“這是一筆意外之財。”

bonanza[bəˈnænzə]: n. 帶來好運之事；幸運

Mr Khan says that sales have been led by India's smaller cities and towns, as that is where more people have individual terraces or roof tops. This is in contrast to the big cities, like Mumbai, where most people live in flats and have to share such outdoor areas. These communal spaces were officially out of bounds during the lockdown.

阿赫桑·汗表示，印度的小城鎮銷量最高，因爲那裏更多人擁有獨立的露臺或屋頂。相比之下，在孟買這樣的大城市，多數人都住在公寓裏，必須共享戶外空間。這些公共空間在封鎖期間都是官方禁止開放的。

Like all countries, India may now be at risk of returning to lockdown. This is especially true after the nation reported almost two million new cases in August, the biggest monthly number globally since the pandemic started.

和所有國家一樣，印度現在可能面臨着重新封鎖的風險，尤其是在印度八月報告了近200萬新增病例後，這是疫情暴發以來全球最高的單月新增病例數量。

While the health and safety of the populace is obviously the main concern, kite flying is likely to remain a popular distraction for a great many people if they are forced to stay at home again.

儘管大衆的健康和安全顯然是關注焦點，但是如果人們再次被迫待在家裏，放風箏很可能會繼續成爲一項流行的消遣活動。