It is suffocatingly dusty, a grey-brown haze looming over the city. People are wearing masks, wheezing or even coughing heavily as though the alveoli in the lungs can’t tell air from dust anymore.
The visibility is bleak – 200 metres, I'd say – and people are struggling to keep their eyes open with the particulate matter settling on the eyelashes. Some have eyes which are blood-shot red with irritation.
In the midst of this hideous desert-like city of mask-donning, sick-looking people and top-less buildings, my nose surprisingly detects the fragrance of lavender. The stimulus turns my body and I start walking towards the source, astonished that my body still responds to stimulus. I am half-convinced that it’s a mirage –like a thirsty traveller in a desert gets the illusion of a water body.
Making conscious use of the limited oxygen in my body, I seem to have reached the source. A 15 ft X 5 ft vestibule is selling “pure oxygen”!
No, this is not a post-apocalyptic, dystopian world. It is not inspired from Mad Max. It is a mid-November afternoon in Delhi in the year 2019. It is reality.
With the air quality index (AQI) touching 527, which is above ‘emergency’ levels, on November 16, the national capital of Delhi became the most polluted city in the world. While the Centre and state governments of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh bicker and indulge in whataboutery, Delhiites continue to contribute to the toxicity of air and the Supreme Court of India takes a high ground; a young duo decides to do humankind a favour.
We speak to 26-year-old Aryavir Kumar, co-founder of Oxy Pure Oxygen Bar, which is giving a 15-minute session of breathing in clean air starting Rs 299 (plus taxes).
Excerpts:-
What was the germ of the idea?
I experienced this in the United States when I was on holiday. Then I thought why not get it here, because it's something cool, interesting and fun. And also goes hand in hand with pollution.
My partner, Margarita Kuritsyna, and I studied hospitality together in Switzerland. She is Ukrainian. We worked together to build this concept, get it here, decide the location, the pricing and how we should go forward.
How does it work?
There's an oxygen concentrating machine under the table. It purifies the air around us into 90 percent oxygen. So you are breathing clean air and it's a higher level of oxygen, vis-a-vis what we are used to breathing (21 percent).
Plus, you [the customer] take it through a nasal cannula. So it helps in detoxing yourself, getting more energy and gives a breath of fresh air to the people amid high pollution.
Is it safe?
We provide 15 minutes in a day and no more. We have served hundreds of people and have had no complaints. For people with lung ailments, we recommend they check with their doctors first.
Apart from that, it's very, very safe. It's clean air. Just like when you go for a massage and come out feeling good and relaxed. This is just like that.
We do not cure any diseases. This is not a hospital or a clinic. This is purely for rejuvenation.
What happens after the session, when one has to go back to poor air quality?
Oxygen therapy has varied benefits. It helps with sleep disorders, improves memory, digestions, helps with jet lag, etc.
Basically, in those 15 minutes, you are helping your body with many other functions. It helps the body work better.
Why the different fragrances? (Oxy Pure provides seven different fragrances, including cinnamon, peppermint, and others)
The fragrances are essential oils. For instance, eucalyptus helps those with a sinus problem. Similarly, lavender is for relaxation.
What is the business model?
Our core business is hospitality. My family runs a business of luxury hotels – Clark's – that is our main business. This is something we have started on the side, and will probably implement such stores in the hotels in the future.
However, this has solely been created out of my own income and that of my partner's without any help from our families.
What I want is a mixture of my own stores and franchise out to people who want to have their own oxy-bars.
How do you plan to sustain the business when the air quality gets better and pollution goes down?
This is not just for pollution. If it was just for that, then I would keep the store open only during the pollution months and not for the rest of the months, no?
Like I mentioned before, oxygen therapy has many benefits.
The product is also known to benefit sportspersons. I am a professional sportsperson myself. I have played golf for India. The product helps in muscle recovery.
The concept exists in many countries. It's not the first one.
Is this the first one in India?
I did a bit of research and saw that maybe 20 years ago, someone had tried something similar. Also, something like this exists in Pune.
But, in Delhi, this is the first one.
Do you plan to expand?
I am opening another one in two weeks time at IGI Airport T3. I am also receiving a lot of franchise requests. People want to own their own Oxy-pure.
Besides, we are receiving more customers. There has been a recent spike due to the pollution and media coverage. When we opened in May 2019, we got an average 10 customers daily. Now, we are getting about 30 in a day.
In addition, we have tied up with a company called Oxy-99, which provides potable oxygen cans. I am a distributor for them, just like Amazon. Although, this does not have essential oils, and is primarily for people who have low levels of oxygen in their body, or people who are travelling to high altitude, etc.
As a business model, for Oxy Pure, I'd say there is great potential. If someone wants to have their own Oxy Pure, including the franchise fee and fixtures in the store, it would cost them only Rs 15-16 lakh.
As I move out of the bar, located in a mall in Delhi, my eyes fall on a vendor selling balloons on the footpath. In the profession of selling air too, he somehow, couldn't get a breath of clean air for himself.
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