Prakriti Bhowmick
First, wear a mask.
Second, press the nose clip and make sure it fits well.
Third, blow air and make certain air does not come out.
Finally, keep a sanitizer and use it every time you touch something.
That is what I say in my head the first thing after I get up from my slumber. But why, you may ask. Well, primarily because I don’t want to live with the guilt of someone getting infected because of me. The second reason why I am not planning to get infected because, well, who wants to?
Ah! Sanitizers. I remember how sanitizers used to be like that shiny toy back when I was a fifth-grader. It held the power of making everyone talk about you. And I knew that. Me being Satan’s spawn somehow made my parents buy me a sanitizer. And needless to say, I boasted what I owned. Classmates came in to have a glance. Few of them got lucky enough to get a holy drop to use.
Unfortunately, my reign was short-lived. That day ended with my sanitizer getting stolen and leaving my face covered in tears and snot. Only if that thief was nice enough to return it with an apology note, but oh well.
The point being, now the sanitizers are not just a Giffin good for kids to boast. It is more than that. Funny thing how this little liquid, along with toilet paper, rode up the ladder of fame. I wonder if these two are behind this pandemic. That is “sus”.
No, seriously, hear me out. As per Nielsen India, the sale of these sanitizers swelled to Rs 43 crore in March from Rs 10 crore a year earlier. Based on the current researcher, 152 new manufacturers began producing sanitizers in March 2020, controlling a whopping 61 percent market share and a 46 percent volume share. Talk about underdog power!!
Also, Technavio, which has also monitored the hand sanitizer market in India, has claimed the industry to reach approximately Rs 375.04 million during 2021-2025.
However, there is a positive side for those who want some optimism in life right now. New competitors and local brands are currently leading Indian sanitizer industries. Did you know it has grown more than fourfold? The top three brands — Dettol, Lifebuoy, and Himalaya — each had their market share fall from 85 per cent in January and February to 39 per cent in March 2020.
Okay, fine, enough of stock market talks and statistics. Let us go for the look around and analyze approach here, shall we? So, look around in your house. How many sanitizers do you currently have? How many you had before? How often do you use it now versus earlier? And finally, the million-dollar question. How dependent are you right now on these sanitizers? How dependent were you before?
Now that the realization has hit home, do you see what I am trying to say here? Will you still believe that sanitizers are not behind this pandemic? Still?
(Writer is a student at St Xavier’s College, Mapusa)
