Pune: Man wearing gold mask goes viral on social media

Passersby stop for a glimpse of Shankar Kurhade, who wears a gold mask worth Rs 3 lakh, in Pune on Saturday. (Photo by Rajesh Stephen)

A 49-year-old man from Pimpri-Chinchwad has caught the attention of media after photos of him wearing a gold mask went viral.

A resident of Indrayani Nagar in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Shankar Kurhade has got himself a gold mask made for around Rs 3 lakh. “I didn’t do it for publicity. I’m fond of gold,” he said. However, Kurhade said he was not sure if the gold mask will protect him from Covid-19. “It is not the gold or cloth mask, but social distancing and hand washing that will protect human beings from coronavirus (sic).”

Kurhade, who has studied till Class VII, said he got the idea of gold mask after watching a video clip of a man from Kolhapur wearing a silver mask.