In my household my father focused so hard on education with his children we never heard about our skin color. The first time I realized I had dark skin was when someone pointed it out (Gujarati guy in college). It was never a point of concern for me. As a mature adult I see how thoroughly skin color matters in the Indian community. Matrimonial ads list education, profession, height, and skin color. Why does it matter so much?
I wonder if the whole issue began with the British rule in India. It is being propagated by Bollywood. The fair skinned, light eyed actresses are role models for beauty in a country where 100's of million of people are dark skinned, brown eyed. I'm just confused by the whole topic.
In retrospect Americans spend billions of dollars a year on tanning creams, so maybe it's just about not being satisfied with what you have...
1 comment:
You have brought out a very interesting topic. I will have to talk to my friends more knowledgeable in history to find out if the color consciousness in India is a legacy of the British rule where white color became an indicator of supremacy. Shiva- Parvati are considered as the ideal couple in Hindu traditions. All marriage songs (at least in UP Bihar and MP) contain references to the marriage of Parvati with Shiva. Every Hindu parent aspires for her daughter to have the same happiness as Parvati.
The complexion of Shiva is white whereas that of Parvati is dark. Parvati has a languid appearance of her eyes as someone who has just emerged from deep meditation. She is considered to have tamed Shiva a "madman" into behaving moderately. She is considered to be one who fulfills all the worldly needs of human beings. Shiva is so much in love with her that he is often shown as Ardhanarishwar- half woman half man.
It is very strange that with such rich traditions the Hindu society degraded itself from worshipping devine powers of head and heart into earthly attachments symbolised by color and clothes.
It is interesting to note that with empowerment of women their seems to be a recognition of the talents and qualities of head in our cinema in recent times. We watch a very popular serial called SAT PHERE in which the leading actress SALONI is a dark compexioned, bright eyed and very intelligent girl. Let us hope that the Indian community would return to more sensible yardsticks of beauty necessary for a happy family as has been our tradition.
Post a Comment