Expression of inner feelings through body language is a quality born with us. But, ever since the pandemic struck and we started wearing masks, most of the facial expressions remain hidden and we are left guessing the mood of the person.
It is generally said that face is the index of the mind. The forehead, eyes, eyebrows, lips and cheek emote and convey our inner feelings. By contraction or expansion of a few millimetres of facial muscles and tissues, one expresses feelings that even words cannot. A simple smile or grin too displayed our feelings. These emotions poured out directly from our heart.
Of course, even while we wear a mask, our eyes are exposed and they too emote. Indeed, eyes are a very powerful medium of expression and as William Shakespeare said, “Eyes are the window to your soul.” Now with mask on, it is the eyes which convey most of our expressions. The arching of eyebrows and sharp and piercing eyes convey a wide range of emotions. However, if we lose eye contact with a person while talking today, words remain just words.
Likewise, lip reading is a great art, which is employed even by enforcement agencies, especially in Britain. Lip reading of a simple nature was used by all of us during the pre-mask period. Ordinary words or a small sentence is easily understood by us when the speaker mumbles them from a distance. With mask on, lip reading is also lost.
With the virus getting only vigorous with the passage of time, the number of layers covering our face has increased. Now, people are wearing double masks, courtesy the second wave. To top it, many are putting face shields for an extra layer of protection. These extra layers only add to the already existing confusion. During this pandemic, many of us would have found it hard to recognise even our close pals or colleagues with their face mask on.
Mankind has survived so many challenges thrown at it. Hope the present pandemic will also be won and a day will come when face masks will no longer be necessary. But I do not think everyone will stop wearing mask. Now, many are accustomed to wearing it and have also realised the benefits it offers, especially against smoke and dust with which our roads are filled with, and also during the monsoon and winter against cold weather. Maybe in the long run, the art of face reading and lip reading will diminish. Truly, the pandemic has changed our lives in many ways and wearing mask is one such thing. Like Alexandre Dumas’s, Man in the iron mask, many of us are going to move around with masks.
