As the sun sets over Shanghumukham beach, Lekshmy Srinivas strikes a pose for the camera, her skin a radiant brown in the light of the remains of the day. It’s a beautiful sight but, ironically, she has been chosen to flaunt something that has created emotional scars that run deep in her – her complexion. “In skits, I was always the girl in the bit roles. The teachers thought my complexion made me ‘look the part’. Another time, a girl refused to let me sit next to her, choosing my fairer friend instead,” Lekshmy recalls, having been at the receiving end of a racist comment only a few years ago at an international conference in the United States. “When I met my German-American roommate she said that the colour of my skin made it easy for her to spot me as she was expecting someone from India.”
Lekshmy Srinivas
A national post-doctoral fellow at The Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Lekshmy is one of the many faces of the #YNOT DARK campaign. Though not the first such initiative in India, the idea to pull off such a campaign in the capital city occurred to freelance make-up artiste Madona Pratap when she was irked enough about the issue to do something about it. A post on a Facebook forum was all it took: asking for women who would like to volunteer as models in support of dark skin. The response was overwhelming, to the point where Madona had to turn off the comments section in a matter of hours.
Varied tales
At the shoot, the stories that tumble out from Madona’s first-time models in between make-up sessions and costume changes reveal incidents of bullying and shaming that span varied instances over several years. While most of the women have, over time, learnt to be comfortable in their own skin, the unprovoked jabs tend to annoy. “For something that shouldn’t even matter – the colour of one’s skin, the number of women who have been made to feel inferior thanks to the stigma associated with dark skin is not trivial,” Lekshmy says, recalling many potential proposals that did not progress because of her complexion. When her husband came along though, Lekshmy says it turned her life around. “I am fine with myself now but he helped me push the boundaries I had set for myself, encouraging me to introduce bright colours into my wardrobe and the like,” she adds.
Mintu M. Kumar
Mintu M. Kumar, a dentist, also reels off incidents that immediately come to her mind: nicknames like ‘ kaakaa ’ or crow, primary school playtime where she invariably became the maid while her classmates decided that the fairer girl would be the princess. “I felt that participating in this campaign could be my contribution to bring awareness to the issue, even if in a small way,” she says.
“There’s more to life. We can’t raise girls making them feel like their complexion is what matters,” Lekshmy, also a mother to a nine-year-old girl, points out. Madona explains, “This campaign isn’t against anyone. It is for acceptance, those who tease should know that such remarks hurt, that no one has the right to judge. Some women are so insecure that giving, let alone accepting, a compliment is difficult for them. That is the sort of emotional baggage they have grown up with.”
“Isn’t it funny?” she asks, referring to different perceptions of beauty. “Europeans lie in the sun for hours to achieve the perfect tan. I see fair brides in Asia cringe at the hint of a tan and dark women go to extreme lengths to look fair.” Madona, who is from Kolkata, says while no one within her family or friends’ circle made her feel conscious about her dusky skin, travelling for work in India and abroad was a revelation to what other women suffered.
Palak Varindani
Those at the campaign took home more than a few pointers on how to channel their most confident self for the shoot. Palak Varindani has been mistaken for a South Indian one too many times. “I understand that my complexion is not like that of the average Sindhi’s. But what does a ‘South or North Indian complexion’ mean?" she asks bemused. Growing up, she was generously doled out unsolicited advice. “People would give me home remedies to lighten my complexion, recommend fairness creams, without pausing to think that I haven’t asked them.” Not an avid user of cosmetics, Palak, a tomboy in her university days, reveals having, on occasion, cherished the thought of carrying off a glamourous avatar uninhibitedly. Madonna’s post on Facebook rang a long forgotten bell. “I thought why not. A campaign would inspire others, get this conversation started.” Post shoot, she is beaming. “It was so good to see other women like myself. I feel great.” The other plus? “Now I don’t think twice before wearing make-up!”
Meenakshi Sajeev, a poet and content expert, has no such qualms and wears her red lipstick with pride. “I have been teased by extended family, friends, classmates and teachers for my skin colour,” she admits, just back from an internship with the United Nations Environment Programme in Geneva. But thanks to parents who raised her affirming the values of education, books, life experiences and interacting with people from different cultures, Meenakshi has turned out feeling “stupendously beautiful”.
Incidentally, when pursuing a master’s in Public Relations in the UK, her thesis focused on campaigns against colourism. “Stories should be shared about people excelling in whatever they do despite the colour of their skin or body type,” says Meenakshi who, for one, adds that her complexion has never stood in the way of whatever she has set her heart on. “I have always thought that the people who teased me simply lacked a sense of aesthetics.”
Those who collaborated on the campaign volunteered their services as they empathised with the issue. Some of the jewellery was provided by city-based Artery. Raj Gopal Iyer, CEO of Uday Samudra Leisure Beach Hotel & Spa where the shoot was held over two weekends, says, “We believe in working with people for their attitude. So the campaign sat well with our credo.”
Madona Pratap
Though still undecided about the route #YNOTDARK will take, Madona does not want it to fizzle out after a feverish round of ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ on social media. “I want the campaign to go beyond social media and reach people from all walks of life.” As the shoot winds up, Madona’s four-year-old daughter Ananya prances around, holding a make-up mirror to her face and chanting “Preeettyyyy! Preeettyyyy!” in a singsong voice. Madona smiles. “See? That’s how I want every girl to feel no matter what her complexion is like.”
