In
my first year in India I was living in a hostel which I could term as the
international kind. I was the only African there along with people from Europe
and the Americas as well as some Indians. We were truly international. In fact
we used to joke that the only continent left unrepresented was Australia. When
we’d walk together, we’d refer to ourselves as “United Colours of Benetton” like
the brand!!! Come to think of it, we should have asked to be brand ambassadors!
I had never been prouder of my African roots.
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| The beautiful Alek Wek (Image) |
After my first winter when the sun was
gentle and we were all excited to see it, we would have lunch outside on the
terrace just to enjoy the sun. (If you can imagine an Indian summer of 45
degrees Celsius you will understand why the sun is only exciting in that month
and a half after the winter). For the Caucasians, it was an opportunity to get
a tan as well. I used to marvel at the importance of ensuring that you get the
same amount of sun on various parts of your skin so that you have an even sun
tan. They even told me that I was very lucky because I didn’t have to worry so
much about the paleness of my skin. Even in terms of make up, I didn’t have to
struggle too much with applying blush and lipstick etcetera to add some colour
to my face. All I had to do was put some lip gloss and I was good to go.
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| Gabrielle Union (Image) |
This is one thing that completely cemented
my love for my skin colour. I said to myself that no matter what happened I
would never use skin lightening creams or buy fairness anything!!! Who said
that to be lovely you must be fair? Many people long to have this beautiful
African skin of ours. The black colour (it’s not actually black but varying
shades of brown), not only protects you from harmful UV rays but also gives you
a much envied skin tone. And think about it, you rarely have to worry about the
colours you wear because believe me, even without trying too hard; you have a
wider spectrum of colours at your disposal than our Caucasian friends.
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| Oprah Winfrey (Image) |
What’s your take on these matters of
fairness creams and bleaching of one’s skin? How proud are you of your African
roots??
xo
Audrey
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