While going down memory lane, I recall that
in my childhood whenever I used to travel by road with my parents I never
missed to read the words painted in bold, KEEP DISTANCE, on the
backs of trucks running ahead of us. When the car overtook a truck, I got
excited and cheered the driver. As if I had won the race. I was under the
impression that our driver would have got the permission to go ahead from the
driver of the truck!
At that time I did not know the reason for
the display of those words KEEP DISTANCE on the back of every
truck. Later I realised that it is for safety and to avoid a mishap if the
truck ahead of you brakes suddenly. This principle is applicable to all vehicles
running on the road. It is a part of traffic rules all over the world. So, KEEP
DISTANCE.
But you and I never imagined that one day
this traffic rule would be applicable between human beings. With the outburst
of the corona pandemic, the words KEEP DISTANCE started echoing in every
nook and corner of the world, with its Indian version of ‘Do gaz ki doori’.
However, just ‘Keep Distance’ or ‘Do gaz ki
doori’ is not enough; this traffic rule of ‘Keep Distance’ is incomplete if you
don’t mask your face. So distance without mask is not safe. The reason for this
is to keep the deadly virus away. The only route this virus gets into your body
is through the nose, the ‘Gateway of Corona’. When you cover your face, you
become ‘faceless’. Don’t take anybody at face value, meaning don’t be in
contact with anyone with an open face. He or she can be a carrier of the
‘predator’ called corona.
Before the mask being used in the corona
pandemic, let us recall that in some communities women are required to cover
their face; it’s called ‘Ghunghat’ or ‘Burqa’. This practice is followed
religiously in patriarchal families in rural parts of India. Even at home, a
married woman is to wear a ‘ghunghat’ to show respect to the elders in the
family. So you will find a married woman standing on the threshold of the
drawing room adjusting her ‘ghunghat’ constantly to cover her face even if she
is arguing with the elders at home. Often, a female cannot step out of her home
without covering her face. And this has been in vogue from times immemorial.
Interestingly, the ‘ghunghat’ has been a
source of comedy of errors in many Hindi films and serials. And then covering
the face with a ‘gamacha’ is common in the underworld. The underworld is always
a big threat to law and order of the ordinary world where you and I live. The
term ‘underworld’ covers everyone, right from ‘Chambal ke daku / Thugs’ to bank
robbers, ATM robbers [a new category] and every evil soul indulging in crime on
earth. The dominant intention of those evil souls is to hide their identity
while committing heinous crimes.
We also see girls and women covering their
face with an ‘Odhani’ or ‘Dupatta’ whenever they are riding a vehicle solo or
pillion-riding. Why do they follow this practice? We should not intrude into
their privacy too much. I think you understand what I mean.
When it comes to the mask being used now,
what we observe all around us is quite amusing. Initially, there was a lot of
talk about masks, right from the World Health Organization to heads of nation
to the Prime Minister of India, the Health Minister, epidemiologists, doctors
and ‘WhatsApp universities’. In this corona pandemic, the mask is the only
‘panacea’ to stay safe before the virus enters your body. Surprisingly, this
claim was turned down by none other than the President of the USA Donald Trump
before he was caught by the deadly virus during the Presidential election
campaign!
There have been a lot of discussions and
debates, particularly on electronic media, about what constitutes a proper
mask. Initially, the N95 mask was highly recommended by WHO. But it was not
affordable in India. So we see ‘desi’ versions of masks of different designs,
colours, material, layers in use. Even a simple cotton ‘gamacha’ is used as a
mask in many parts of India. In fact, it is more popular than the N95 mask.
Many people take pride in using ‘gamacha masks’ (perhaps they believe in
‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’). Go to YouTube and you will find at least a hundred
videos of ‘How to make home-made masks’ with practical instructions in sweet
voices.
The use of a mask is compulsory outside your
home, without mask you are liable for a penalty. The penalty varies from city
to city. So don’t become the target of the police department because some
overzealous police uses physical force, too. You may have seen those visuals on
your TV screen.
So distance and mask are inseparable to curb
the spread of the corona virus. Earlier it was social distancing, but it is all
about physical distancing at present.
But for corona
distance doesn’t matter; it emanated from the laboratory in Wuhan in China and
travelled to every nook and corner of the world. The health and the wealth of
the world have been destroyed by this deadly pandemic.
Remember, the humble ‘gamacha’ along with
‘Do gaz ki doori’ is the only vaccine available till a real vaccine comes to
the rescue of the human race.
