I hate white...black is my color
In a small village near Tanjore, in a non-descript house, a girl sat on a small moda, squirming, as she was subjected to a detailed scrutiny by a bunch of old hags and a man. The man wore spectacles, was in his late twenties and had no hair, or receding hair. The girl had just turned twenty one and had to be married off lest the society jeer at her parents for not performing their duty.
The wedding date was fixed. The girl still hadn't mustered the courage to see the face of the man she would spend her life with. Good girls from good families didn't ogle at men. Certainly not at a man they were going to take as their Lord and Master.
The girl and the man got married. He wasted no effort or time to deflower her. In a few months she got pregnant and delivered a health baby boy also. Now, her status in society rose. She became the 'saubhagyavati' who had everything in life. A husband, a son, and a fair skin. The girl, now a woman, had flawless fair skin. The man watched her in awe whenever she emerged from the bathroom, scrubbing her fair body with imported soaps the man got from his various trips aboard. Then she would sprinkle some perfumed talc to increase her sensual appeal. The man would go crazy with the heady combination.
Years passed. The couple had another boy. Both children grew up and it was time for the older son to marry. The man started looking for a woman who would suit the good looks and 'color' of his fair and handsome son!
The son got married to a girl who was fairer than the mother-in-law. All the men were thrilled to bits. Their family was the best. Their gene pool was going to be the best. The son and his wife settled down but the new daughter in law (DIL) could not beget a son. The son grew pensive. What was wrong? They had the right color, then why was she unable to bear him a boy?
An uncle discretely took the son to a doctor. The doctor ruled out the possibility of them having any kids. The son had a problem.
The father got worried. He had married well, ensured his son got married to a fair woman. Then where had he gone wrong? There must be something wrong in the DIL. Her stars are not correct perhaps. A huge puja was conducted. Meanwhile, semen from the son was injected into the DIL and lo! she got pregnant. A, fair as the moon, son was born. The DIL heaved a sigh of relief.
It was time for the younger son to find himself a wife. He had somewhere drifted away from the diktats of his family. He wanted a woman who could talk to him and not just brighten up his home on a day of a power cut!
He could buy a generator, he replied. His father sulked for months. How could his son want to marry and bed a woman whose skin color was anything but white. What would be her character like? How can God be so unkind to him? His family picture would look terrible, with a dark-skinned or a wheatish skinned girl in the picture! He was feeling sick.
The son went ahead and got married to a dusky woman, considered a beauty in her family and circles. The second DIL was highly educated, had a very high paying job and had a mind of her own. When the fair MIL and fair older DIL suggested that she use a popular fairness cream to enhance her skin color, she politely refused. The son supported his wife's stand.
The couple decided to do something to curb this menace. They started a movement. They started educating people in their community, their offices, their families about the stupidity of being obsessed with color. Some people scoffed, some understood.
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If you are a woman with a not-so-white skin color reading this post, have you wondered why you feel less confident? Or if you are a man who has a strong opinion about fair skinned women, have you thought, introspected about the whole idea of being fair? Have you tried to understand if you really really care about skin color or is it something that you simply agree to because of your father or the society? I have written this post to make people think about this issue.
I do not think that women who are dark-skinned are less beautiful than their fair counterparts. I particularly think the Indian skin tone is just so beautiful. To all my friends who are not so fair, please, stop and take a deep breath. You are all lovely people. I love you all the way you are, not for your skin color, but for your mind, your heart, things that matter. For the rest of them who want to judge you on your skin color, be it whoever, ask them to go jump. I mean it.
From a wheatish-skinned woman to all her sisters. Black is beautiful! :) :)
The wedding date was fixed. The girl still hadn't mustered the courage to see the face of the man she would spend her life with. Good girls from good families didn't ogle at men. Certainly not at a man they were going to take as their Lord and Master.
The girl and the man got married. He wasted no effort or time to deflower her. In a few months she got pregnant and delivered a health baby boy also. Now, her status in society rose. She became the 'saubhagyavati' who had everything in life. A husband, a son, and a fair skin. The girl, now a woman, had flawless fair skin. The man watched her in awe whenever she emerged from the bathroom, scrubbing her fair body with imported soaps the man got from his various trips aboard. Then she would sprinkle some perfumed talc to increase her sensual appeal. The man would go crazy with the heady combination.
Years passed. The couple had another boy. Both children grew up and it was time for the older son to marry. The man started looking for a woman who would suit the good looks and 'color' of his fair and handsome son!
The son got married to a girl who was fairer than the mother-in-law. All the men were thrilled to bits. Their family was the best. Their gene pool was going to be the best. The son and his wife settled down but the new daughter in law (DIL) could not beget a son. The son grew pensive. What was wrong? They had the right color, then why was she unable to bear him a boy?
An uncle discretely took the son to a doctor. The doctor ruled out the possibility of them having any kids. The son had a problem.
The father got worried. He had married well, ensured his son got married to a fair woman. Then where had he gone wrong? There must be something wrong in the DIL. Her stars are not correct perhaps. A huge puja was conducted. Meanwhile, semen from the son was injected into the DIL and lo! she got pregnant. A, fair as the moon, son was born. The DIL heaved a sigh of relief.
It was time for the younger son to find himself a wife. He had somewhere drifted away from the diktats of his family. He wanted a woman who could talk to him and not just brighten up his home on a day of a power cut!
He could buy a generator, he replied. His father sulked for months. How could his son want to marry and bed a woman whose skin color was anything but white. What would be her character like? How can God be so unkind to him? His family picture would look terrible, with a dark-skinned or a wheatish skinned girl in the picture! He was feeling sick.
The son went ahead and got married to a dusky woman, considered a beauty in her family and circles. The second DIL was highly educated, had a very high paying job and had a mind of her own. When the fair MIL and fair older DIL suggested that she use a popular fairness cream to enhance her skin color, she politely refused. The son supported his wife's stand.
The couple decided to do something to curb this menace. They started a movement. They started educating people in their community, their offices, their families about the stupidity of being obsessed with color. Some people scoffed, some understood.
________________________________________________________________
If you are a woman with a not-so-white skin color reading this post, have you wondered why you feel less confident? Or if you are a man who has a strong opinion about fair skinned women, have you thought, introspected about the whole idea of being fair? Have you tried to understand if you really really care about skin color or is it something that you simply agree to because of your father or the society? I have written this post to make people think about this issue.
From a wheatish-skinned woman to all her sisters. Black is beautiful! :) :)
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