Here’s the thing with masks

The warmest yet effective conversation with a stranger I can recall is from a few years ago walking on the street late in the night The streetlight was enough to shine on only the top half of the personrsquos face She was stepping out of the ATM door while I was at quite a distanceAssuming I was walking towards the same ATM machine she gently furrowed her brow and squinted her eyes to mean itrsquos not working I responded shrugging my shoulder to indicate that sucks She nodded sideways and closed her eyes to say ldquoSeriously man sucksrdquoWe didnrsquot know what each other looked like But had managed to communicate all that was needed to Saving me of course only that extra walk The eyes express a lot when thatrsquos all you can see I thoughtOr you might have also observed on occasion since March 2020 when the spectre of pandemic introduced to our faces a mask that concealed half of how people primarily know us by mdash automatically compelling us to make light eyecontact with those passing by Which also makes it easier to casually avoid bumping into those we donrsquot wish to on a walk for instance Because even theyrsquore not sure itrsquos you That sweet spot of a cover from nose to chin allowing for a plausible deniability about whether you are really thereIt provides you precious anonymity from an acquaintance when you need it And the first opportunity of a familiar wave only when you feel like it ldquoOh hey itrsquos merdquo ldquoAh whatrsquos up sorry couldnrsquot tell it was yourdquoCould we get used to this Hell yeah I hear during the 191819 Spanish flu mdash last global pandemic mdash reports suggested if people might simply adapt to the mask as a way to be forever Of course that didnrsquot happenWhat I did notice though watching new releases online mdash while the world was holed up at home in the relatively early part of 2020 mdash is how prevalent masks were even on screen None of this content was really shot during the pandemic Itrsquos like when you have kids of your own you simply start noticing children everywhere you goI see Abhishek Bachchan wear N95 at a dumping ground in Breathe 2 Watch a masked Manoj Pahwa enter a living room in a movie called Kadakh because hersquos sensitive to smell Even surgical masks in Coolie No 1 There was a screen full of masks in Money HeisthellipThe latter of course is what we instantly associate masks in popculture with anyway bank robbers Whatrsquos the other The legendary mask for the alterego of a human bloke who transforms into a superheroBatmanrsquos visor actively exposes him to COVID19 His archenemy Bane is best off A reason Superman doesnrsquot wear mask I guess is because as Clark Kent he was already born with superpowers mdash he doesnrsquot need to transform only conceal his actual selfpowers from the worldThe first working coronamask I owned was of supervillain Carnage lying around in my drawer from the movie merchandise of Venom mdash no way the makers had a premonition of the pandemic They just made my mask slightly cooler than othersrsquo But only for a bit as fashion quickly caught upMaking it clear that if anything must appear as an accessory on the body the human aspiration for aesthetics will ensure it attains a purpose beyond its function alone mdash namely art joke designer label even diamondencrusted social statement mdash even if the world is on the verge of a potential breakdownMy favourite pandemic meme is on my Tshirt with Van Gogh wearing a mask tied between both ears Except he obviously doesnrsquot have the other ear If wersquore gonna die someday anyway may as well live with gallowsrsquo humour What couldnrsquot Van Gogh do with a mask that you canIn that secret crevice between your mouth and cloth you can feel more securely alone while the world looks on mdash you can mutter instructions to yourself without anyone turning repeat important points before a meetingexam chant calmly if yoursquore spiritually inclined avoid the cityrsquos sweet stench never reek of cigarettes or alcohol stick with your stubblehellipBetter still if yoursquore on a negotiating table with only the eyes exposed and sometimes a smile that travels to it mdash you can put up a pokerface that the world champions of the cardgame are incapable ofYou also for once look nearly as good as the person next to you mdash although if someone has indeed complimented you on how great that mask looks on you Irsquom presuming they mean you have a face for radioThere is a cloak of rare anonymity and mystique that Irsquom willing to bet yoursquoll miss once you donrsquot have to wear a mask anymore God knows I will Do it for the entertainment value listed above then mdash if saving the world and yourself from a deadly virus hasnrsquot evidently quite been your scene so farMayank Shekhar attempts to make sense of mass culture He tweets mayankw14 Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper