Owing to his childhood obsession with wearing gold, a businessman from the Indian state of Odisha, could not bear wearing a simple N-95 facemask, so he got his lined with the precious metal. Alok Mohanty paid a hefty amount for the flashy protective gear, equivalent to Dh17,145.
In India, wearing luxurious protective gear has become the latest trend, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, as recently several people made headlines for wearing facemasks made out of silver, gold, and even diamond studded varieties.
Cuttack resident, Mohanty, also got inspired and decided to brief a local jeweller about his preferred design, and he agreed to make a gold mask for the businessman.
From pictures of Mohanty, his love for gold is evident. Sporting the circular metal mask, matching chunky gold chains and jewel-encrusted rings, the entrepreneur’s pictures were shared online.
"I have been wearing gold [ornaments] since the last 30-40 years. Wearing gold is my weakness. After seeing people wearing gold masks, I immediately asked my jeweller to design one for me,” he was quoted as saying by local news outlets.
The gold mask Mohanty is currently sporting on the streets of Cuttack, is a N-95 mask with a thick gold net sewed on it.
"The gold netted mask, which took 22 days to prepare, costs approximately Rs3.5 lakh (Dh17,145). Around 90-100 grams of yellow metal was used to make the mask," Mohanty added.
Tweeps were quick to react to Mohanty’s pictures, and discussed about the trend of wearing luxurious masks that has caught on in India.
User @narain41 tweeted: “News: A Cuttack man wears gold face mask worth Rs 3.5 lakh... In future, a person’s financial status will be known by the mask he/she wears, not by the quality of clothes. #COVID19”
