Fashionably functional

With masks that are both chic and effective in blocking out air pollution, Vogmask is set to change the way Delhi breathes

One year ago, a friend who loves New Delhi like he would his first-born would not believe me when I told him that Delhi has the most polluted air in the world. But isn't it the greenest? He is not alone in this denial - several Delhiites seem perplexed when they are told about particulate matter pollution, particularly since it is "invisible". But with a 2014 World Health Organization report and The New York Times' journalist Gardiner Harris's incisive piece on the health hazards of living in Delhi, there is a grudging acceptance of the mounting troubles. Besides the Delhi government's odd-even rule, residents in the city are beginning to adopt anti-pollution masks. Vogmask, a US-based company that produces what it claims are the world's best face-masks, finally has stores in Delhi's upscale Khan Market and Select Citywalk mall.

Besides their functionality, what helps is that they look quite quirky, doing away with the medical connotation that usually comes with such masks. Jai Dhar Gupta, founder and CEO of Nirvana Being, the company that markets Vogmaks in India, explains how these masks dramatically improved his lung function. "I am a marathon runner and my lung capacity had declined drastically when I moved to Delhi. It was only when I met a diplomat from the American embassy at a camping trip that I discovered these masks and why everyone in Delhi needs them," he explains.

  The masks, available both online and offline in different colours and sizes, typically last about 6 months if used daily. The best feature, besides the fashion quotient, is the exhale valve. My experience of using an N-95 mask - one that keeps 95 per cent of pollutants at bay - has been largely uncomfortable. I felt I was breathing stale, warm air, which made me feel slightly suffocated. The exhale valve with Vogmasks reduces that discomfort. There's also one with two exhale valves, which are meant for those who exercise outdoors.

The Vogmask store goes a few steps beyond masks and offers simple, yet chic solutions to the unhealthy environment we live in. For instance, a small device that resembles a Bluetooth speaker and is called the Laser Egg displays the PM 2.5 levels. Gupta explains how this device "makes the invisible visible". Priced at Rs 9,995, it seems like the thing that would bring with it an adequate amount of anxiety. The Airgle air-purifiers are also available at the store, priced Rs 85,000 upwards. "Since PM pollution affected me personally, I believe in using only the best technology to tackle this issue," he says, by way of justifying the significantly higher price. Gupta adds that his company will be launching a car air-purifier, Purafil, in about three weeks. "While bringing the PM 2.5 levels will need a concerted effort and a change in some basic habits, one must do what one can to safeguard oneself against such hazardous living conditions," he says.

While Gupta began his foray into air purifiers by way of personal experience, it has, he says, converted him from an entrepreneur into an activist. This is also why the store retails Bobble, a BPA- and PVC-free bottle meant to bring down the use of single-serve mineral bottles. Bobble, priced at Rs 949, comes with an in-built carbon filter than can safely purify even municipal tapwater, though not ground water. The filter needs replacement after almost 300 litres of filtering water. Not only does it reduce the number of bottles that end up in landfills - approximately 20 million per day - but it is also made from recycled materials.

Though the store in Khan Market is empty when I visit, the representative says that it retails about 20 masks every day, priced Rs 2,000 and upwards. This number is bound to go up in fashion-conscious Delhi, with designer Manish Arora's chic prints, which will soon feature on these masks. And, since these "designer" masks will be priced just Rs 500 higher than regular ones, it seems like a great way to get a designer label in one's wardrobe that also improves lung function.

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Visit the store online at nirvanabeing.com