This morning I read an excerpt of Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey. Although people in the US are expressing shock over the palace’s racist views, I was not surprised. The concept of “purity” is something I have heard since I was a little girl growing up in India. Let us be fair—the Brits didn’t leave racism behind in India when they left. They were able to conquer India because the average man deep down believes that fairer skin indicates superiority. Every Indian man, whether he is dark-skinned or not, wants a fair-skinned girl. None of her other attributes matter. “Every man” is probably an exaggeration. There are those who like Bipasha Basu.
I once knew an elderly Indian man from my home state of Kerala who was so obsessed with fair skin that he was called “Beautiful uncle.”
I am working on a collection of stories titled “Beautiful uncle” and other stories from the fictional village of Pavanadu. I hope you enjoy this collection of stories that explores racism, gender-bias, the cruelty of women towards other women, and much more in the most literate state in India—Kerala.
Stay tuned for the release date.
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