You don't need to be brown skinned to understand this, first things first. Uff . Of all the things that greet the Indian eye , somewhere on top of the list is the skin tone. In spite of the repeated calls of wisdom from various religious texts that attachment to a gross physical body is pointless , the advertisements where people magically turn white , as if they have been dipped in wheat flour rules the aspirations of a helpless majority of the subcontinent. While the Western folks have found a way to use their skin tone to their advantage, still the desire to appear mayonnaise skin toned is a hidden ambition among many. Ironically, our dusky skinned celebrities themselves endorse these skin lightening products sending a message as though being white means being attractive. While , I fully agree attractive things are indeed bright, and being fair skinned does grab eye balls, it doesn't call for this much reverence. Let me make one thing clear y'all , India being one of those places where the Sun constantly keeps blowing kisses, one does get warm and the skin does appear like a roasted pappad , but that is indeed our natural shade. Imagine a whole world full of fair skinned homo sapiens. Then us Indians will also be trolled like the chinese 'ming tongs' and korean 'ding dong lees' , where everyone looks the same. We Indians, who take pride in diversity , should come to terms with their appearance, the way God intended.
I was wondering how much humor was present in our lives, that we tend to ignore like the nose between our eyes, one must take the effort to tell the world , some of the funny yet everyday traits of us folks. Take for instance, when a cousin or someone who lives outside India visits our place, one does get cranky on what they will be getting from there. This is an acceptable trait, but funnily , families go into Wars in Indian households when an outbound person brings home the local sonpapdi or mixture , instead of foreign chocolates, perfumes. I am not brazenly alleging that Indians are cheap , but one does hear a story or two of how fights happen within families, where the unsuspecting foreign relative made the grave sin of not having brought anything foreign when they visited their home. Things become deadly if they didn't buy even the standard sweet-spicy snacks and they bring a packet of fruits. On the other side, assume one does bring the foreign purchase, guess what the first thing our folks would say - " darling , why take this much strain, you could have just come just like that" , even as their eyes grapple to focus on each other as their hands were checking out what's in the cover.
From the homemaker queen running to cover herself with a dupatta when she is wearing a nightie, when someone rings the bell , to the oblivious tired man-of-the-house who displays his man-parts while wearing a dhoti , one will be surprised how certain behavioral patterns are so common across our households. Oh these things do crack me up big time . I have literally seen how hawk eyed some women scan the lady in front of her, to assess what new gold ring or bracelet she is wearing. The lips talk, but the eyes literally scan each other , to the envy of body scanners in USA airports. The obsession with jewelry , and how it is seen as an unparalleled parameter of judging one's prosperity is another innate Indian dubious trait. This is in fact even observed among men, but not to the extent of their female counterparts.Nearly all localities will be having jewel shops, with banners of successful actresses adorning gold, silver , platinum , diamond jewels all over them that is almost alien like. And there will be some of those, who wear all possible malas on their necks, showing their deep affinity towards religion. Some people go to such an extent, that I wonder, when these people walk , and it rains, they will turn into a human tree, thanks to the seeds of different plants that they sport as malas. One does find extremes as they breathe some air in the subcontinent.
From bus drivers and jaywalkers openly spitting on the roads to men covering themselves as they sneak a leak on corners of roads, and some curious pathetic people who creep up on them to see if "they were doing better than him", to cows raining shit on roads and car drivers literally pressing their asses on horns , a foreign national who had been accustomed to a certain set of rules and cultural ethics will find the typical Indian landscape so disturbing . Funnily, we are the ones who claim to be culture champions , as we mock at the West for their lack of culture, when merely they were just sporting more skin publicly , drinking more often and questionably getting into numerous physical relationships just for the sake of it. Being Indian , doesn't have a standard definition and no scholar of sorts can define the Indian fully in a single sentence. From food habits, where North Indians literally eat, sleep , walk and cover themselves with Roti , and South Indians blow themselves up with varieties of Rice, to dressing styles where women up the north have mirrors on their dresses covering their heads with sarees and women down the south have bangles on their hands and sarees that flaunt their waists, the differences in preferences in everything create a world of their own. We are a world of worlds . All this being said ,there exists within the country, a group of morally relieved folks who don't like to be pinned down to any custom just because they belong to a clan and they do more of what makes them be comfortable. They do what appears logically right and morally comfortable to them and unfortunately these people get judged for their non adherence to popular values & customs and for being culturally nonchalant. This creates a rebellious attitude in them as people fail to see their good hearts, altruistic gestures, pragmatic ethics and merely judge them for not mimicking their tribe's expected standards. And the list goes on.
It takes a certain level of maturity and mental acumen , to be cautious of one's own identity, as one tries to not overdo their identities, even as they accommodate people with their own self imposed certitudes . This is precisely what adds impetus to the statement , when I proclaim that , being an Indian does harness one's mental assets more than the larger population across the globe. If you are an Indian, you will be smiling and nodding as you give yourself a pat on the back of how nice an "Indian" you are. If you are a Non-Indian, I am confident, you will be constantly kept on your toes as you wade through the country during your travel. Nevertheless, we have a tangible level of humanity and values left in us , and thanks to our smorgasbord of identities, there will always be someone out there to help you just because you are their "clan" ; and some , who simply will lend a hand because you are an Indian first, and even some special ones, who recognize you as a human before your national identity. India is a country full of such richness in everything , and one day our people will also be rich by the coin, a country free of poverty and challenges to food, shelter and Education.
Jai Hind !
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