My friend loves black shirts and shoes and pretty much everything in black
Except the girl next door who he would have dated only if she was fair
My little sister refuses to drink chai as her mother once told it will make her dark
And in order to avoid tan, my girl friends cover their skin with dupattas or scarfs
But tell me one thing, as Indians aren’t we supposed to be brown/dark?
I have seen aunties telling young girls to apply creams on their face
“Try it, all the darkness will fade away and you will become fair and lovely” they say
Well aunty, its the colour of our skin, not a night sky
Also, your cream does not contain sunshine for the darkness to fade
And why should it fade? Brown is beautiful and so is black
It’s our skin for god’s sake! It carries stories of our ancestors
It has the essence of our history, our country and our culture
It covers our bones, our blood, our soul and our heart
Giving us an identity and making us what we are!
So next time you come across any aunty, friend or neighbor criticising the colour of your skin
Give them your best smile and tell them how sorry you are
For there is no “beauty cream” that exists
To fix the darkness clouding their judgement and thoughts
And mention how proud and happy you are in your own skin
Which is identical to the colour of Krishna, goddess Kali and Lord Shiva
The gods and goddesses they have worshipped since the beginning of time
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