heart of darkness

In this 21st century, we the modern people referred to as Gen-Next, laud ourselves on being progressive pertaining to matters regarding caste and creed. But even in this era of globalization and ‘enlightenment’ we have pushed another burning issue to the background—COLOUR: that of fair and dark people. Moreover, this discrimination against the not so fair skinned people seems to be directed only towards the so called ‘weaker sex’ of society. Though it may be difficult to believe, girls in India face this problem even today.
Being fair is seen to be indicative of class, caste and status in the Indian society. You have to just browse through the various matrimonial ads to realize how the complexion hierarchy works. ‘Fair’ is the most sought after, followed by ‘wheatish medium’ while ‘dark’ features nowhere in the list. In most cases dark skinned girls are passed off as ‘dusky’. The idea is to pair off ‘fair’ people so that their light-skinned offsprings experience wider opportunities and success in life. So the vicious cycle continues, sustaining at once a widespread cultural prejudice and a parasitic beauty industry.
The cosmetic industry is flooded with skin lightening products and women ranging from sixteen to sixty wildly grab the various ‘fairness’ creams and potions. The only objective being to lighten their skin tones and thus become desirable. The Indian mindset equates fair with being beautiful. The ‘Fair and Lovely’ ad shows a dark-skinned girl being refused the post of an air hostess due to her complexion, much to the distress of her father. Applying the fairness cream for six weeks she manages to bag the job. The marketing strategy seems to blatantly sell the idea that whether you want to become an air hostess or a doctor, what matters is your skin tone and not your academic qualification.
The only silver lining seems to be the fact that in this age of metrosexuality the fairness creams are also eyeing men as potential customers. Unilever recently launched ‘Fair and Handsome’, targeted at the metrosexual, image conscious man. The underlying message being that fair is what makes one successful, desirable, and beautiful. In India, this war of colours starts very early, right from the time of birth. When a girl child is born, the first question from her ‘concerned’ family is not regarding her health but her skin colour. As it is, she starts her life on the backfoot being born a girl and if she happens to be dark-skinned then her miseries get multiplied. Comparisons with other light-skinned females around her, barbs and taunts regarding her colour, become\n her lifelong companions. Hold on, however! The scenario is not all bleak and dreary. Times are changing and ‘black’ seems to be gaining ground with a vengeance, especially owing to the influence of India’s growing diaspora. With cross cultural marriages and Indian “dark” skinned girls creating quite a sensation in the West and down under, the “brand equity” of the dark skinned is certainly on the rise. In the fashion circuit, dusky models like Carol Gracias, Madhu Sapre, Tupur and Tapur Chatterjee, Koena Mitra are all considered hot properties. Bollywood too is not lagging behind. Actresses like Rani Mukherjee, Kajol, Bipasha Basu—are changing the definitions of beauty. Taking heart from the desirability quotient of these dusky women, dark-skinned girls are no longer shy of flaunting their natural skin-tone.\n Moreover, fashion conscious females are nowadays using tanning lotions and skin darkening bases to sport the ‘dusky’ look. "
The only silver lining seems to be the fact that in this age of metrosexuality the fairness creams are also eyeing men as potential customers. Unilever recently launched ‘Fair and Handsome’, targeted at the metrosexual, image conscious man. The underlying message being that fair is what makes one successful, desirable, and beautiful.
In India, this war of colours starts very early, right from the time of birth. When a girl child is born, the first question from her ‘concerned’ family is not regarding her health but her skin colour. As it is, she starts her life on the backfoot being born a girl and if she happens to be dark-skinned then her miseries get multiplied. Comparisons with other light-skinned females around her, barbs and taunts regarding her colour, become her lifelong companions.
Hold on, however! The scenario is not all bleak and dreary. Times are changing and ‘black’ seems to be gaining ground with a vengeance, especially owing to the influence of India’s growing diaspora. With cross cultural marriages and Indian “dark” skinned girls creating quite a sensation in the West and down under, the “brand equity” of the dark skinned is certainly on the rise. In the fashion circuit, dusky models like Carol Gracias, Madhu Sapre, Tupur and Tapur Chatterjee, Koena Mitra are all considered hot properties. Bollywood too is not lagging behind. Actresses like Rani Mukherjee, Kajol, Bipasha Basu—are changing the definitions of beauty. Taking heart from the desirability quotient of these dusky women, dark-skinned girls are no longer shy of flaunting their natural skin-tone. Moreover, fashion conscious females are nowadays using tanning lotions and skin darkening bases to sport the ‘dusky’ look.
Tables are thus turning, albeit slowly. Black is no longer taboo. And taking a cue from Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the director who made ‘black’ a rage, we can proudly say : ‘Black is the colour of knowledge/ Black is the colour of power’. Black Is also Beautiful…