To Mask OR To Umask

Primitive man wore no clothes, but as man progressed he felt the need to cover himself , to keep him safe from the scourge of variant weathers. He further progressed to footwear, headgears etc. Then came designer wear to look smart and beautiful. The latest addition to clothing since the wake of the covid pandemic has been the face mask to cover his mouth and nose. In our world only clowns wore masks and we laughed at them, now we all are clowns**

Truly speaking every human is masked. What you see in another’s face is never the true face, a face may look cool even when angry and provoked. There may be a smiling face with deep sadness within. There may be neutral face even though actually disgusted .An innocent face may be actually a crooked one. Reading a face is next to impossible, as every face is masked. Now with the advent of the mandatory use of face masks due the covid there is now a double mask . Humans are now totally masked , the true face which was never revealed now has a companion ….the covid pandemic face mask.

At the start of the epidemic, masks were not mandated by the WHO. In fact it was not advisable to wear on. Later the WHO changed track making countries around the world to make the use of masks mandatory. There have been heated debates as to whether it was actually of any use. Those who advocated the mandatory use of masks prevailed and face masks since have become the norm. Cloth masks, surgical masks, three layer masks, N95 masks and many more came to be worn by citizens all around the world . Initially all types of masks were in short supply, there was a mad rush for them, rates skyrocketed , the manufactures and traders made a killing. The first wave waned and by this time there were many more mask made millionaires . Which mask should one wear , another point of debate. The N95 was the pick of the lot , it could definitely keep the virus away for sure was what was said. The other masks were poor cousins of the N95. Yet other swore by the three layer masks, some still said that the cloth masks washable and reusable were as good and effective as any other. Medical personnel prefered and wore the N95. Office going people wore the three layer masks, the students , housewives, younger generation wore designer cloth masks

The basic logic is that a mask would prevent the entry of the virus and also prevent it from going out from a masked person. This is truly logical, but considering the size of the virus in microns would a mask actually keep away the virus. Neither is it an airborne virus as per the scientific community, then are the mask really useful or does it give all of us a false sense of security. May be the N95 to a large extent is useful, but what about the other loose fitting masks which are unable to keep away the virus. One thing is for sure the use of masks has added to the garbage problem. There is no scientific disposal as yet , used masks can be seen in every garbage or strewn along streets while actually it should be treated and disposed off as biomedical waste. Has the advantages of the use of masks been converted into a larger disadvantage, only time will tell.

Irrespective of the pros and cons or the debate on whether the masks will help stop the spread of the covid virus, the fact that wearing one shall do no harm has to be thought of seriously. Just as the wire mesh screens in our kitchen do not keep away all the kitchen washing wastes from going into the drain pipe or steel meshes across rain drains wont keep back all the floating garbage from entering the river, similarly even though the mask might not prevent all the viruses from crossing the barrier it will to a certain extent definitely help be the barrier . So the argument is what’s the harm in using the mask as long as this virus poses a risk to human lives , atleast it will help an infected person from spreading the virus to a great extent. Whether it’s true or not is still open to debate.

The government of countries across the world should be be more rational and sensible while imposing such rules though. What’s the point in making it mandatory for a husband and wife travelling in their own car to wear masks. Why should a single person on a morning walk alone along a empty stretch of road wear one. You are at the barber having a shave , you can’t wear one. You can’t ask people in a swimming pool to wear one. So let’s make it mandatory only for people at places where there are crowds , offices where people work together for hours, let’s keep the rules sensible. Even as I write this blog I hear that Britain is going mask free….Maybe other countries will follow suit soon… Right or wrong only time will tell ……Yes the mask manufacturers party will soon be ending…They wouldn’t be crying any way , their money has been made. The present mandate for masks will end some time or the other but what about the masks we wear today, masking our true selves , will we be able to discard them. The man with a handsome face masking the killer in him, the beautiful face of a woman masking her cruel behaviour, the murderous face of an actually kind person, the sober and kind face of a revengeful person. These need to be unmasked . It’s only the clown who wears a mask that’s visible, all others wear a mask and it’s invisible. Unmask yourself , let the world see the true person you are. The world will be a happier place to live in with unmasked people.