Looking beyond the looks…

Indians are a community obsessed with fairness, unfortunately not of character but of skin. The obsession has risen so much that skin cream companies have done the what was unthinkable a few years back not just produced but notched up high sales of fairness skin for men too; what a shift from ‘Tall dark and handsome’ to ‘Fair and handsome’, fair skin and a six pack ab is what attracts.

Every marriage advertisement has the word fair prominently displayed in the first line itself, technology is (mis) used to appear fair in the pictures; Why is the dark skin so unwanted? Why do not these people understand that photo-shopping cannot hide the ‘True Colour’ of skin and especially the character.

In many areas in northern part of the country fair skin matters more than the grey matter one possesses. Opinions are formed on the looks and the style; no time is spent on understanding the brain. Maybe that is why someone preferred to call brain, the intelligence as ‘grey matter’ and not white because to look good matters more than ‘to be good’. It anyways does not matter whether brain is white, or black or grey, fair skin and a perfect figure anyways makes the mind of the onlooker go numb or makes him dumb, isn’t it?

Many of my countrymen who put their voice loudly behind the ‘Black lives matter’ protests taking place in USA have never bothered to speak against discrimination in their own streets in fact right in their own households. Why can’t we just start with a protest against all these fair and lovey creams. We are a nation where black lives in US matter but in their own life most men just want a fair bride.

The thought process of young generation is changing albeit slowly most hunks still prefer an arm candy to the bold and beautiful. Both young men and women must take on the responsibility of changing this mindset which is so highly prevalent even today specially in the rural of the country.

Corona did to an extent divert the attention from the looks to the brain; with every face covered and beauty parlours closed people found time to indulge in creative activities and making intelligent conversations with those who mattered without bothering about the look; That’s the way it has to be, people have to learn to live in their own skin and make use of the brain the way it is supposed to be; after all it is the brain and intelligence and not fair skin which is required for paying the bill, managing home or office.