DARK IS BEAUTIFUL; Stay unfair, Stay beautiful !!

( IMAGE SOURCE- PIXABAY)

Many illustrations have made a stereotype that fair skin is a synonym of beautiful and this has enhanced the market of fairness creams. The present scenario has made us buy the creams for the girl ‘Fair and lovely’ making me wonder that can’t be girl be lovely without being fair. Also for men, there is ‘Fair and handsome’. Don’t you think that these fairness creams commercialization had silently joined hands with fair colored while it makes discrimination?
Also, examples such as a fair girl are denoted by word beautiful and a dark-colored girl is denoted by ugly which had been noticed in books of primary school’s children many times. Or we can hear all about fairy tales either it’s snow-white or goddess Sita. Also, goddess Gauri had set an example after being damned.

Social stigma;

• Fair skin is now had become an obsession. In Indian society more the darker you look, the lower your place in the social hierarchy.
• This obsession haunts the families who are concern about their girl’s marriage or you can say this makes the priority for the girl. As darker the girl looks the chances of rejection are more or the parents have to pay in the name of dowry. I don’t know why this even exists as our certificate, talent or work didn’t define us or our confidence. Why should we be judged by our skin tone?
• This starts from birth when our relatives or so-called aunties start comparing our sibling with us.
• Darker tone people are not called by their name instead of it we have the names for them like Kalia, kallu, kauwa, madrasa, etc. But friends it should not be taken seriously as we have the names too for fair-skinned people like angrez, bhura, bandariya and so on.

Facts of cosmetics;

• Most of the skin-lightening creams targeted the skin’s ability to produce melanin which will result in fair skin. They contain soy, licorice or arbutin, and sometimes combine with hydroquinone which is a medical lightening agent. It is a potentially carcinogenic ingredient.
• But not all the creams contain this because it is banned. On the other hand, I would like to say that it is used illegally.
• All these treatments like laser treatments or peeling have a dangerous effect on our skin as it leaves fresher skin which is exposed to radiation and pollutants.
• People who are addicted to fairness creams tend to be more careful in their work field and avoid being under the sun even for a shorter span as they will get tanned and would further get dark.
• We use suncream to protect us from U.V radiation and the moment we stop using the cream our skin gets irritated and develop rashes. So one has to start using it again. So this is a vicious cycle. Also, fairness creams are addictive too said by many dermatologists.

Why dark is beautiful;

There are a lot of examples;

• Our gods are dark. Ironically Lord Krishna being called Shyam and yet be handsome and charmer. Also, lord Shiva, who is revered for his strength and power, is dark too. So is Durga, the good-over-evil goddess.
• Indian audience had shown overwhelming acceptance for dark skin tone actors and actresses. Like- Rekha, Kajol, Anu Aggarwal, Shilpa Shetty, Bipasha Basu, Nandita Das, etc. the list is endless. Among male Rajni Kanth, Shatrughan Sinha, and many other darker-skinned stars have ruled the hearts of millions.

Changing attitudes;

Women’s attitude is changing as they are gaining more confidence by being educated and financially independent. We do find beauty in dark but most of us ignore it for we know beauty lays in the eyes of the beholder. We overlook the brightness of those eyes and confidence in those smiles for there is darkness in the skin.

Conclusion;

We cannot change society but we can start by being the change, for as a beholder we can be confident with who we are. Kavitha Emmanuel is the founder of Women of Worth, an Indian NGO that is standing up to bias toward lighter skin. The Dark Is Beautiful campaign, launched in 2009, is not “anti-white”, she says, but about inclusivity – beauty beyond color( mention in the guardian). It is time for us to decide on whether to start thinking and take a step ahead now or further keep ignoring the darkness which has its beauty too like that of a monsoon cloud. You all can join the Facebook page of the campaign and be the part;

https://www.facebook.com/darkisbeautiful/

I would like to ask from you that still is it necessary to have fair skin? Tell me in the comment section what you think about it!!

FOUR WHEELS :The country’s present is hanging in balance!

If your vehicle is vibrating at high-speed or if you are shaking at your seat then you most likely need your wheels balanced.
If one out of front tires is out of balance you will feel the vibration in your steering wheels. If it's a back tier you will feel the vibration in your seat.
When any one tier is out of balance, it slams into the road many times. And if all four wheels are balanced then you will experience the smooth ride. In the same way India scenario is well-balanced by four wheels.

FRONTLINERS; A REAL WARRIORS

We are well known with this pandemic scenario (COVID-19) which is going on and for now this virus is spreading. On the front line between a nervous public and those who are responsible for managing the national response, the healthcare workers are standing for us on whom we totally rely upon. Doctors, nurses, carers, and paramedics around the whole world are facing a bizarre workload in scant health facilities and with no end in sight. They are working in stressful and frightening work environments as they are under-protected, overworked, and are themselves vulnerable to infection. They are facing separation from their families, their loved ones, and also mental stress. 

( IMAGE CREDIT; headtopics.com)

WAVE OF POLICE; AS A FRONTIER

But on the other side of the front line, our administration department policemen are also working hard day and night just to implement the laws as some dumb people were not getting the severity of the situation. So just to keep our people safe they are enforcing us to stay at home. India’s police are mostly criticized for its brutality and bribery. It creates a little trust in the eyes of the common people. But the coronavirus crisis and the subsequent lockdown has brought out a reverse, compassionate side of them. It is this combined image of personnel in uniform singing and dancing for the troubled public, helping poor people by feeding them, attending calls of students for assistance, and also helping migrants that can help change people’s perception of them. We should be thankful to them for this.

( IMAGE CREDIT; theprint.in)

INNOVATIVE SUPPLIERS; AS A BACK TIER 

Now I would like to tell you about municipal corporations these days who are working as back tiers. Many municipal officials also could not stay home. Trash, and recycling collectors and many others have to be in the streets on work. The corporation is helping in conducting a door to door survey on coronavirus and collecting the information.  They are also emphasizing the mask-wearing who are out for any purpose. They have increased frequency and intensity of cleaning all sites, including regular sanitization of door handles, Touch screens, scanners, cameras, and other frequently touched areas, and they also use to spray disinfectant across many areas regularly. They are helping the government by ensuring the delivery of grains, pulses, etc to needy peoples. 

( IMAGE CREDIT; hindustantimes.com)

ACCEPTING CHALLENGE; WORK FROM HOME

Like them as a back tier only to minimize the outbreak of COVID-19 and to encourage social distancing many companies had announced mandatory work from home and sending their employees home to work remotely. Whether it is IT companies, media and communication, bankers, education, customer support. I will say many more of them are working from home despite facing difficulty in communication or feeling isolated from their colleagues (teamwork) or mental stress, they are serving us. So that we can easily withdraw the money from the ATM, we can easily surf the internet, we can easily order our necessary things online. During this economic crisis employers are focused on maintaining continuity and productivity at the same time preventing operation grinding to a halt.

HIDDEN WHEELS; WORKING GENEROUSLY

Lastly we all know that we all have extra tires in our car used in an emergency. Social activists are one of them who are distributing free food among the needy during ongoing nationwide lockdown. They are feeding stray animals on roads. They keep motivating our front liners and also taking care of our entertainment. 
You may be someone who is coping well in these times and this is great but some people are struggling with the symptoms of poor mental health due to rising anxiety and the monotony of current life. For them, some people who are running helpline numbers. They are assisting people to maintain good mental health. 

( IMAGE CREDIT- hindustantimes.com)

A FINAL NOTE FROM ME TO YOU

I know you are amazing and contributing invaluably as key workers in supporting our nation through this pandemic. We should keep supporting all our five wheels who are there for us. Also it is our utmost duty to support and thanks to our front liners. It is only everyone’s collective effort that keeps humanity alive. 
Please remember to take care of yourself and ensure you do all to keep both mind and body healthy in this crisis.
Thank you for being you.

THREE MUSKETEERS : True friends stays forever beyond words, beyond distance, beyond time!

Around this 1st year I met my best friend, but I didn’t realize they were my Best Friends. I thought they were like classmates only whom I never gonna talk to at the end of semester. They were the girls about whom I never thought I would talk to them that much and they will become my family.

But I was wrong.😉

In the beginning I used to live in a hostel and they both Kiara and Aarohi were living in their own house as they were localite. They came to interact with me, they thought of me as intelligent. But they were definitely wrong. Kiara and Aarohi seemed really happy as they were friends already. We started to talk every day. I shared my feelings about the hostel as I wasn't willing to live in a hostel for a long time. It’s not that I never lived in a hostel and P.G before but this was like an enclosure. So, I had left my hostel and opted to live in a P.G hostel.😐

I used to go to Kiara’s house and we had started to attend parties, night out together. We had stayed together for many nights and eventually our bond became stronger. Few friends were envious also but we didn’t bother at all.

Our first trip was to Bhubaneswar. It was the best time when we were tipsy on a beach and Aarohi disgorged the whole story of her life. Frankly speaking it was terrible for me to see them both after getting liquored up. Aarohi was puking and Kiara was totally buzzed. We had spent a night on a beach and I was literally frightened. But the next morning we walked for our breakfast and explored some temples and Odisha’s handicraft shop. I believed that we were inseparable. We came back to our hometown. All things are going well.😃

(Image source: wattpad.com)

Then one Sunday Aarohi met her first boyfriend. Don’t know why I didn’t like that guy as she was becoming him, sharing and losing identity in him. All she did for him was pleasure for her. After sometime like Kiara I also keep supporting her. But we had witnessed her going through heartbreak, disappointment and getting dumped. I remembered that day when she ranged me up and bawled for what happened to her, unfortunately I wasn’t there with her. I was struggling that time as an entrepreneur who had to face failure and downfall. On the other hand, Kiara moved to another city. 😩
It was a rollercoaster year for us. It wasn't an easy transition for me where I had started a new business and had zero social life in Bangalore.

 Aarohi got a job as a journal and started her career in Indore. For the long term, we were not in touch with each other. All of us were busy in making our good life and career. After a year in the month of march I got a voice message from an unknown number and it was Aarohi telling that Kiara met with an accident and she was leaving for indraprastha Apollo hospital.😞 Simply after hearing this I chose to drive and without delay left my town. I and Aarohi both reached the hospital and query for Kiara there. Receptionist told us to go to room 332. When we both made an entrance, we were astonished by our vision of her sitting in an armchair in white coat. She is a junior surgeon in Apollo hospital. She was snickering about her accident and told us that how can we forget about today as it was our friendship anniversary. We had abused and punched her down for panicking us this way but lastly we had celebrated our day and I guess liking your best friend isn’t so bad as long as you both know you’ll be there for the other one no matter what happens.
We went through thick and thin and I wouldn’t change it for the world.😌

They are my best friends and I’m beyond thankful for it. So all I have to say is thank you to my best friend for being such a gift in my life so far, for making my life better and brighter in so many ways, every day to many more years growing and exploring life together!!

(Image source: wordpress.com)