White, whiter, whitest

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I have often wondered about this strange attraction with fair skin. It's almost like an obsession for some people. Even newborn babies are not spared. Is the child fair? Oh, she is not. Probably, because the mother is dark. A boy can be dark and get away with it, but a girl?! Tch, Tch. Will she get married? If she starts applying enough turmeric on her skin, maybe one day her color will suddenly change.

One lady in our neighborhood, carelessly called my friend who was in college at that time, dark and ugly. The poor thing spent hours crying, and nothing I said could make her feel better. This was ridiculous to me, because not only was this girl pretty, she was also a sensitive, bright young female.

Another one of the broad assumptions we make, is that all madrasis are dark. First and foremost, there is no such thing as madrasis. There are south indians and north indians. People from madras are called tamilians and each state has its' share of fair and dark people. It's not a criteria for beauty and certainly not something one should feel proud about. I've seen enough fair people who look like monkeys and enough dark people who can be called supermodels, to come up with my theory.

The west is at the other end of the spectrum. They have tanning booths and they would lie for hours at the beach, hoping for a sun kissed, tanned look. Of course, this is very different from racial prejudice we might see based on color of the skin.

I'm sorry, my friend. You were always pretty. I hope you know it.

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