Naira looked at her image in the mirror and cursed her luck again. I must have done something to displease the Gods, thats the reason I have been cursed with this dark skin which everyone detests. Known as the black sheep of the family, not due her deeds but due to the colour of her skin, she had borne the brunt since childhood. Tormented for bringing bad luck to the family, compared to her light skinned siblings, told to use haldi and fairness creams and when nothing worked, she was asked to try some cosmetic surgery to lighten the melanin pigment in her skin. Once she was older, the taunts became even more harsh, who will marry you they asked? In a country obsessed with fair skin, who would even want to think of a second marriage to someone like you. You are doomed they often said.
The years of negativity had affected Naira and she often thought its her fault, her shortcoming and she has to be willing to compromise as she lacks something vital.
One day she had a chance to travel abroad to Krakow, a city in Poland as a part of her theatre group. She was surprised to see the transformation here, the attitude of people was so different, they loved her tanned skin. Strangers complimented her and some clicked pics with her. Out of the blue, a theatre group director offered her a pivotal part in his play- he saw her performing one day in the arts festival and was impressed by her talent and her dusky skin would be apt for the role of the protagonist. Her joy knew no bounds. The skin she had been cursing had given her a new life. Alas, she realised it so late and subjected herself to years of agony, she needed validation from strangers to make her realise that she is beautiful in her own skin.
There was no looking back now. She wanted to go a step further and do something for scores of girls and boys in India who are made to feel inferior about their skin. #ProudOfBeingBrown – thats how the powerful initiative in support of brown skin was born.
This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.’
Yes, that’s a wonderful hashtag. It’s sad when people put down others based on color. Loved this empowering story.
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Thx so much Raj, I have personally lived through the agony and that has made me determined to fight it.
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Great story. I’m glad that Naira was able to embrace who she is and that she is beautiful without having to alter herself to fit some arbitrary rule of beauty.
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Thx Alice! Though I wish she would have realized it without needing validation from others
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I loved how you have made the point without going overboard .I really dont get the skin color issue .It is God will!
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True Amrita don’t get the prejudice Especially in India
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Loved this story so much. I am not sure who has set the standards for being beautiful but I know that they are lame. When I got married to Abhinav, people were quick to judge. But it never ever mattered to us. While Abhinav tells me that he fell in love with my heart, I have always told him honestly that I first fell in love with his looks.. He is hot!
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You told me that when we met! Hope more people think like you Swati
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I can only imagine what it’s like to be treated differently (let alone BADLY) due to having darker or lighter skin. The first time I saw ads for skin lightening creams, I was appalled. All designed to make already beautiful women feel unworthy and inferior because their skin wasn’t pale? (Here, women pay good money to go to tanning salons. When will we be satisfied with the way we are?) It makes me sad. Anything to divide us, make us question our worth, and make money doing it, eh?
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Ah I have gone through it personally and know the pain and shame. The MNC’s are making money out of this which is appalling
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You deserve friends and family who love YOU, not your skin tone.
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True Holly I learnt that with time and learnt to be proud in my skin
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I havn’t read all ur blogs… Bt this is something really heart touching…. Beautifully blended emotions…. Loved it
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Thx for the kind words! Do take a look at the diverse range of topics I cover when you have time
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Yaa sure
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this is beautiful Akshata
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Thx so much
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Heartfelt story. Society has groomed itself into such beliefs. The movie ghazini in hindi is a remake of hollywood movie memento. The guy in tat movie was a simple looking man but the hindi version needed a handsome, beefed up, 6 abs personality to make the hero connect to our world. Beauty lies in the eyes of beholder.
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Very true these stereotypes need to change- the definition of beauty is more fluid
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Is beauty skin deep? A million dollar question in Indian context! You summed it up so well in this story!
– Anagha From Team MocktailMommies
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I believe it’s not but sadly seems to be the biggest parameter to judge people. Thx Anagha as always
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It’s sad that people are obsessed with “fair-skin”. It’s the 21st century and yet, certain attitudes aren’t changing as quickly as we’d like. I hope that #ProudOfBeingBrown helped many others to feel comfortable in their own skin. Beautiful story! Wonderful take on the prompt. 🙂
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True nothing has changed in our country, thx for stopping by
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Hopefully, things will start changing soon. It was a pleasure.
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Beautifully written! Loved it.
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Thx so much
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Hey! This is the link to my blog, a story of two young souls. https://rb147forever.wordpress.com
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Thx wil check
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Wow, it’s pretty good.
“The society forgot that its better to have a dark skin rather than having a dark soul and a blank heart”… Keep up the good work!!
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Thanks for reading and that comment is so true. Alas people are blinded by society s skewed definition of outer beauty
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The curtains which had to be transparent are not anymore transparent, hence totally blinded. A sad truth.
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Just read this post. So beautifully and simply explained the reality .
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Glad to hear that!
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Awesome story.Loved it .Please check out my blog http://ketakimalwade.com/.Your feedback will be appreciated.
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Thx so much
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