The "mask" culture

2020 was nothing short of a thrilling sci-fi film. With so many articles related to the pandemic, I don't want to add to the list. Instead, I'd like to throw some light onto the "mask" or "masking" culture.

When the wave of uncertainty hit, masks were one of the simplest ways to be safe. Masks of different makes, sizes and materials surfaced (a great business prospect for many!) and soon, you could find shops selling masks at every corner. Rules started being formed around this - you're allowed to fill petrol only if you're wearing a mask, mask becomes as compulsory as a helmet, you're not allowed into most of the stores without the mask and so on.

But, is the mask culture a new term? Or is this something we all are very well aware of and have been ardently following since time immemorial?

If you're wondering what pandemic I am referring to, well...to your disappointment or amusement, this ain't no pandemic hon! (though you could call this one, a deadly virus indeed!)

The mask culture that I'm talking about is an "all inclusive" culture. What an irony to find a culture like this in todays age! sigh

Well, without digressing, let me tell you about a little about this.

So, this was something that happened a few years ago (I was wayyy too dumb before that to even realise this was happening º-º ) when I was preparing for my first set of interviews. I had reached the location a little too early, and was patiently waiting outside. The office attendant came to me and asked me to sit inside as it was going to take a while for everyone to come in. The attendant seemed like a very grumpy person and after completing his daily morning set of activities, came to me and enquired about me. We had a little chat, where he mentioned how meaningless it was to pressurise kids like this and make them wait for hours together, also ranted about the company being ignorant towards employees and his bosses being a pain. After something that felt like an eternity, more people started coming in and finally the managers came in. That was when it happened–this very happy, cheerful, full of life person walked out and was going about greeting everyone with a wide smile and went about making arrangements for all the candidates. If you've already guessed it, yesss... this was the same office attendant! The oh-so grumpy guy looked like he got a face lift! He looked like all the happy adjectives would fit him. To be more specific, exactly like the theatre masks.

This incident got me wondering and retrospecting several other encounters with people like this. That's when it struck me – all of us do this! A kid pretending to understand what the teacher says in class so that he is not pointed out, a girl pretending to like clothes a relative gifted because it makes her look "good" in their eyes, an employee pretending to like his job and his boss, a mother pretending to like how she is being treated by her in-laws, grandparents pretending to be happy just to put up with their kids and grandkids, and so many people from all walks of life. Remember when I told you this was an "all-inclusive" culture!

As scary it may sound, or no matter how much you deny this, we all have an imaginary shelf full of masks. Masks for occasions, masks for certain people, masks for emotions, and the list goes on. If asked, why or how did we become like this, well there's no ONE answer to that. It could be because of the unrealistic expectations set by the society, the need to impress or please everyone, the will to be like someone we feel is perfect– it's a mystery. It's because of this mask culture, that most of us don't value true emotions, or it becomes very difficult for us to trust someone and be sure of their intentions.

Even though this might sound like a line out of a fiction novel, I really hope we can eventually put an end to this mask culture along with the Covid mask culture!

Ciao!