Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Dark n Ugly..

(images from internet)

Y'day i went to a very old friend.lets call her namita..we were together from class 5..we used to have similar heights,similar body structure and almost similar hair-dos..But there was one marked difference between us..She was fair and I was dark.I always secretly admired her fairness.I remeber once a teacher told us while passing by us in corridor "are u twins??".. obviously we laughed and said no..and the thing was over for namita but I was so happy that someone compared me(a dark girl) with namita(the epitome of beauty-coz she was fair!).I came back home and told my mom..she heard it and said ok..Nobody understood that time why I was happy.even I didnt..I just knew that somehow I have got some beauty in me..
But when I met namita's mom y'day after so many years I got to understand what that happines meant to me in my childhood.lemme try it out in dialogues..
me: namaste aunty..
namita's mom: namaste beta..how are u??
me: me fine..u tell..
namita's mom: good.but beta ye kya ho gaya??(giving a scary look)
me:kya??(confused)
namita's mom: tu to aur bhi kali ho gayi..kuch lagaya kar skin par..aajkal to itni creams aati hain.rang pakka ho gaya to shadi bhi nahi hogi..
me : (can not u'stand how to react) koi baat nahi aunty..nahi karungi shadi..
namita's mom:(cajoling) arey nahi aisa kyun keh rahi hai..koi na koi to mil hi jayega tujhe bhi..
namita interrupts her moom to stop embarrasing me..

I thought may be namita is different from her mother..but she has alrready stepped in her mother shoes..she said you dont worry ..I'll tell you one face pack..after using that u'll be fair in flat 3 months..my cousin has experienced this(and she was giving a concerned look)

But I suppose this dark complexion prob is not only limited to just namita and her mom..it is very deep rooted in our society.
And now a days there's a new euphemism emerging for dark skins like rusty,dusky tones ..I just feel why is there any need to describe our complexion?have u ever seen a fair girl being described as "a dawny toned-girl"?? (sorry but my creativity doesnt run so much to create euphemisms)
I have met many people who try to push me into depression just coz i am not "fair".But thankfully they have never succeeded(though I admit I was a bit concerned till I was in maybe class8 or 9)..I wish people live their own life and let everybody live their.. :)

16 comments:

Archana said...

Beauty runs skin deep. It's not just what's on the surface that matters. Sure, in the short run people notice each others looks before personality. But what withstands the long haul matters more. And as for Indian society and it's nonsense about fair skin/dark skin/fairness creams blah blah.....it's all boils down to humans are never satisfied with what they have.

Europeans/Westerners want to have darker skin, so they tan endlessly on the beach or in tanning booths.

Asians, regardless of how fair they might already be, are constantly coming out with ways to make their skin lighter and avoid the suns rays.

Women with curly hair are constantly frying their hair on straight irons to straighten it, and then women with straight hair are shelling out loads of money to get a perm.

Lol pretty much, it comes down to not being satisfied with what is in the mirror. Now I'm not against making oneself look at their best, whether that's trying different hairstyles, etc..but when it comes to this fair/dark thing - - Indian mentality needs to change, cause it's scary how engrained it is in society. :/

Delson Roche said...

Lol.. typical Indian Public. Ditto here

preposterous girl said...

@Archana and Delson
Thankz for dropping by..And yeah u r right ,Indian mentality need to be changed..And I can say this also coz I've been at the recieving end of this "abuse".Though I've never let it affect me personally!(All thanx to my parents)

preposterous girl said...

@ Delson
"z" in Thanks in above comment is a typo..I'm trying to improve by working on ur suggestions on indiblogger

Dazed by the Light I See... said...

Hey!! Your post totally totally reveals what is true...
For one, I don't understand how someone's colour can say the matter of the person. Initial attractions, yes but after that, I don't think it matters. Think about some very fair girl, Ms.X who bitches about everyone behind their back, including her very own Best Friends. The problem with our society type-casting and everyone not being comfortable in their own skin,literally...
Archana totally totally explained our situation!!

preposterous girl said...

hmm.. u r right girl..
but we have to change these norms otherwise our next generation will also have to face these biases..

Archana said...

Honestly, brown is beautiful. Brown skin gets the best of both worlds, cause think about it this way, as a girl you can pull off all the shades of clothing, make up, etc. Pale skin - has to avoid pastels, Dark skin - has to avoid extremely deep shades..but brown skin, is the perfect base color. You can mix and match it all, yay for everything looking complimentary. ;)

preposterous girl said...

hey archana..
thats a great way to look at things..Now i knw why i always look good in whtvr I wear! ;)
Love u girl 4 giving me yet another reason to love myself.. muah.. :D

Archana said...

Haha there ya go. :) No problem girlie, the first step to self confidence is loving yourself, so the more reasons you have, the better, heh.

vandy said...

hi
I still can't believe how a matured lady can make such a comment.I wd hv thrashed her...jus joking.Wrote something on the same topic long back..and got lovely comments. :-)

http://serendipity34.blogspot.com/search?q=aparthied

-Vandy.

preposterous girl said...

HI Vandy..
Maybe the lady in question just aged and forgot to mature..
Thanks for dropping by and commenting..I will surely checkout ur post!

Amused Alien said...

well i never thought i have dark complexion until i landed up in GORAland

well its media that fuked up peoples head


beauty is not skin deep its somethin inside you

naomi campbell be perfect example for people who think dark is not beautiful

Anonymous said...

so typical ..we are sapping up all the muck that the so called beauty industry is giving us.. thanks for your comment on my blog :)

preposterous girl said...

Hi Tikuli..
Thanks for the follow..And I'm a regular reader of ur blog and i simply love it...
Keep Blogging :)

Anonymous said...

hiii preposterous girl....me n u r sailing in the same boat...i m dark too...n i m of marriagable age.....me n my parents r hunting 4 a suitable match 4 me which obviously is turning out 2 b a little difficult bcoz of my dark complexion....n everybody around is pushing me in2 depression by suggesting various things like - go 2 this skin doctor...go 2 this beautician...use this fairness cream...apply this paste n blah blah...they make me feel as if i m diseased...it makes me feel so unaccepted...i just dont know how 2 deal wid d situation....its affecting my self-confidence....n i dun wanna listen 2 any of their suggestions coz i believe tat my complexion is god-gifted n i m not meant 2 b fair...n i m happy d way i m....but wen people taunt me abt my colour then it really pinches me...i m beginning 2 develop an inferiority complex....

preposterous girl said...

Hi Anonymous..
Dnt get urself into inferiority complex girl!! U knw dark skin is so in.. Tanned skin looks so sexy.. U only said that u dnt want to give a damn to their so-called preachings , then y r u being depressed.. Go ahead with ur life.. U'll eventually find ur Mr.Right.. Cheers! :-)
Keep coming back..