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One feeling that pops up in my interactions with VFS clients is “amazement”. Our women entrepreneurs have been treating the pandemic, the economic instability and future uncertainties like a walk on the beach. But this is just my opinion; I am sure that this was the outcome of iron-willed determination and labour.

The COVID19 lockdowns have hurt numerous industries, some more severely than others. Some have managed to get back on their feet; others have set a new course. However, one industry has been quietly increasing revenues, particularly during the lockdown.

On September 3, 2020, the BBC website published an article captioned “India’s kite-makers see sales fly during lockdown.”(1)

During the lockdown, some people sang on their balconies, started blogs or vlogs or rediscovered their hobbies. Many Indians found themselves flying kites on their terraces. According to the BBC article, a kite trader from Delhi saw stocks worth Rs 1.50 lakh sell out in one day, by the evening of March 25, when India went into its first lockdown.

In India, people usually fly kites around Makar Sankranti, Independence Day, Pongal, Basant Panchami and Vishwakarma Puja. The lockdown altered the entire routine.

Recently, I had a chance to ask one of my customers about kite sales. Samina Bibi, a kite-maker from Barddhaman in West Bengal, agreed that sales had soared.

When Samina was contacted by VFS’s headquarters, she had just returned home after despatching an order. It was a big consignment destined for another state. Samina had never imagined selling kites outside her hometown, let alone another state.

The lockdown had not been kind to everyone. Samima’s husband was forced to shutter his tailoring shop. For the first time, he had to worry about making ends meet.

Samina, on the other hand, saw sales of kites soar. Orders kept pouring in. She had been making kites for 20 years and had never seen such robust sales.

Samima now needed money to buy raw materials on a large scale. She went to the nearby branch of Village Financial Services and applied for a loan.

The extra cash helped her meet demand. Her husband helped her make the kites and fetch raw materials. As the lockdowns ended, he saw how Samina’s entrepreneurship had helped the family survive. Their son, who was in college, did not have to stop his studies.

As I read more such reports of how Indian kite-makers find their kites flying in the skies over Canada or the USA or in our neighbouring countries, I wish that VFS customers, like Samina, find themselves tasting success in international markets.

(1) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53984915