deviousways

Our obsession with fairness goes beyond desiring a brighter visage or a whiter vagina. Can a social media campaign change this 'colour' bias? A not-so-new Shah Rukh Khan advertisement for Emami Fair and Handsome fairness cream for men is making ripples throughout social media. Not in terms of sales, though. A fledgling community on Facebook called “Dark is Beautiful” is petitioning on change.org to have the advert removed. The community claims the advertisement is discriminatory and racist, that Shah Rukh Khan (or SRK as he is better known) should not use his star appeal to endorse colour bias. The Dark is Beautiful campaign also has actor/activist Nandita Das as the face of several messages that state: “Stay Unfair, Stay Beautiful'. The message has slowly been picked up by various media. Ms Das has been interviewed as condemning this fixation with fairness that has permeated across India. She said, “...in the course of my social work, I once visited a remote ...

A man came up to us, his shirt unbuttoned, gathered around his shoulders, so we could see his chest. And my god, I saw his skin was covered in horrific scars. The flesh was mottled and that peculiar shade of pink you get with really bad burns. He stood there so we could get a good look. We were not going anywhere, it was a traffic junction and the signal was on a 90-second cycle. So yes, we looked. He meant us to. And we gave him some money. Which is what he wanted. Who can blame him, I don't know if he can find work anywhere with such terrible injuries. The skin must feel so tight and itch like crazy. Years ago I used to go regularly meet an acid attack survivor Haseena Hussain. Her ex-boss poured litres of sulphuric acid on her, when she spurned him. She lost her eyesight, most of her facial features, even her internal organs were affected in the corrosive effect of the acid. She once told me that her skin becomes so tight that her mother needs to keep massaging some kind o...

Little man has a new skate board. And I'm scared to get on it. It took him just 10 tries to actually learn how to balance himself. Now he's showing me how to skateboard. I think because I'm a grownup, I have too many fears inside. I fear I'll fall off, make a fool of myself. I am scared, period. Little man, though, he just got on it and took off. He's fallen a couple of times, gotten hurt. But that's not stopping him. So long as I don't psych him out with my fears Or tell him, with the best of intentions, "Be careful", "look where you're going", And so on and so forth,  He's actually perfectly fine. I think there's a lesson in that for me. I can choose to let my fears, my feeble excuses stop me. From learning something new Or I can choose to let go And learn how to skateboard.

My body is an unusual creature. For one thing, I have two uteruses. Congenital I'm told. A medical condition called Uterus Didelphys. Basically, my womb is split into two parts--right chamber, left chamber, is what the doctors call it. Babe was conceived in the right chamber. So when I was pregnant, the gynaec told me don't turn to your right in your sleep. You could crush your foetus. Can you imagine how I felt? I had nightmares about turning over, unknowingly in my sleep. So I only ever turned to my left during the pregnancy. And no, my pregnant tummy wasn't misshapen or anything. As baby grew inside, my left uterus sort of folded in so the right side could expand better. Amazing, really what our bodies are capable of. When little man was nursing, I always found feeding him from my left breast easier. It always hurt like crazy trying to nurse him from my right side. And at night, that naturally meant, I again turned to my left. Now, our son is nearly five. And I ha...

Upliftment--Happens when you bake a cake that rises, (and stays risen!). Alternatively, a good-fitting bra will also do. Heart-bursting--The feeling you get inside seeing your otherwise hyperactive, chatterbox of a child sitting in a corner, completely absorbed in some random, quiet activity. The operative word being, quiet. This feeling makes you want to tightly grab and hug said child. But you don't coz that might disturb the quiet. Kaapinaamaahh: That first sip of filter kaapi hitting your bloodstream. Kicks off the sleep-deprivation, gives you the strength to open your eyes properly. Parkers (noun)--Creepy, sleazy types lurking in odd, dark corners of the park near your home. Also spotted at bus-stops, dead ends, lonely roads, anywhere, really. Best to steer clear. Disapparentate: (Disappear from one location, reappear elsewhere) What parents yearn to do when kid throws tantrum in crowded store, mall, cinema...well, you get the idea. Apologies to J K Rowling. Whyscra...

I've always loved 'fancy' stores--you know, the kind where you get glittery, shiny jewellery, beads in all shapes and sizes, pots of nail polish in brands such as Dazzler and Eyetex and, the 'old' Lakme 'kajal' pencils (the only kind there was, at one time). These all-in-one stores stock everything from toys, watches, stationery and water bottles, to beauty products of every possible hue. Unfortunately, some of the stuff--lipsticks, lipbalms etc-- tend to be of Chinese origin and I always steer clear of those. But these shops are great places if you're seeking nail polish at bargain prices--like old stock from Lakme, Revlon and Elle 18. I found a lovely collection from Revlon in one such store--and each bottle of nail polish was only Rs 150! The stores hold such a charm for me because they are not cold, impersonal places. When I walk into a big branded outlet in a mall, I always feel flustered. And the sales girls constantly hovering around instantly...