In times of corona, youths’ ‘designer shield’ for poor

Prayagraj: In the ongoing month of Ramzan when the family members of 17- year- old Mohammad Tauhid are busy praying and reading religious books and watching TV, Tauhid is making colourful designer face masks which he would distribute among his friends, relatives and the poor people who cannot afford to buy them.
Not only Tauhid, other youngsters like Anshul, Arpita, Anjali, Poonam etc too are busy making face masks for themselves and for their relatives and friends.
“Due to Covid-19 pandemic, face masks have become one of the essential items to keep people safe. As people are bored to wear the same old masks , now fashionable designer masks are becoming popular”, said Ruchi Mittal, owner of Ruchi Institute of Creative Arts in the Sangam city. Going by the trend, her institute had recently conducted an online training workshop and a follow-up competition on the concept of designer masks. Out of 150 students, 56 participated and presented their art work, she further said.
Tauhid is among her students for whom this was a win-win situation. “Besides presenting my work in the competitions, this also gave me an opportunity to use old dresses of the house, from which I made the designer cotton masks which are colourful, match with different attire and washable too”, he said.
He said he is making masks to be distributed among relatives, friends and the poor people as part of charity in the holy month of Ramzan. “I have even planned to gift around two dozen designer masks to my sister on Eid”, he added.
Similarly, for young entrepreneurs like Poonam Rohit Garg, a local girl, now settled in Bengaluru, the future requirement of face mask among the fairer sex has shown her promising business. “I run a canvas products manufacturing unit in Bengaluru (canvas2craft). I have switched to making reusable fabric masks for adults and children”, she said.
Likewise, for Arpita Singh, a resident of Dharbhanga Nagar Colony of the city said,” Once the lockdown is over, parties and gathering will be held where the girls and their family members would love to go wearing the masks, and therefore thus I have designed a mask which matches the suit of my mother”.
Even the shopkeepers of readymade garments have started thinking on these lines. “I have already placed an order of 500 designer masks to a group of the local tailor because after the lockdown, my female customers would certainly ask for it”, said Golu Rastogi.