Fair 'n Lovely

The other night we were having dinner with a professional acquaintance of Rajiv's, a lawyer, and another friend. I don't remember how we got on the subject of fairness creams but out of the blue the lawyer asked me if I could give him some tips on a good one and how to use it (as if I would know anything about that).

He said he'd been considering it to help his career since he's got darker Indian skin and he would feel more confident when he appears in front of the judges if he were lighter toned. I couldn't believe it, here's a fully qualified professional, middle-aged man worried about his skin tone!

He in turn was astonished when I told him that in the US people pay for lotions that make your skin look tan just like people here pay for lotions to make them whiter. Either way Loreal, Ponds, Garnier, Olay, Clinique & Estee Lauder and all the others are making a lot of money off peoples' insecurities.

Everyone else at the table jumped all over the poor guy and said that confidence doesn't come from your skin color it comes from inside, from being smart and competent.

That said, there is discrimination, and its counterpart favoritism, based on skin tone in India. Take one look at the matrimonial section and you'll inevitably see ads proudly proclaiming "wheatish" or "fair" (sometimes homely - which doesn't have the same connotations as in the US, here it means good homemaker - and always beautiful) sons or daughters. Nobody's ever looking for a son- or daughter-in-law with gorgeous, dark Indian skin.