Life back to normal? Covid's decline in India sparks a shopping spree

For the home to the world’s second-largest Covid-19 outbreak, life in India is almost back to normal.

Shopping mall parking lots are full again. Stores are buzzing, and there are long lines for hair salons and restaurants.

“We just got fed up sitting at home, for how long can you do that?” said Kaniz Zehra, a 32-year-old stay-at-home parent to a toddler and a 5-year-old. In recent months, she’s flown for two domestic holidays; last month, she braved the crowds at the DLF Mall of India, one of the country’s largest, outside of New Delhi.

“Initially there was a fear