Through a heartwarming tale of friendship between two 12-year-old schoolgirls, a new childrens book deep dives into the subject and its impact in society
The story is coupled with mini doodles illustrated by Aditi Shashtry. Pics Courtesy/Puffin Books
In June this year, consumer goods company Hindustan Unilever Limited decided to tweak the name of its skin-lightening product, Fair & Lovely, to Glow & Lovely. It was a big move for a product that occupies 40 per cent market share in the face-care category in India but it still begged the question: Is it enough to undo the years and years of discrimination based on skin colour?
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Colourism has plagued Indian society, and the world at large in various forms - be it through giving more space for light-skinned actors on screen or, as writer Rasil Kaur Ahuja points out, our very own vocabulary. "Look at how shady our language is: pure white or black sheep, for instance. It's important to question our choices, identify and admit to our biases, and engage in conversations with an open mind," she says. To further discuss the subject as an educator and writer, Ahuja has penned Unfair (Puffin Books).
Lina and Meher, both 12-year-olds, are best friends. This year's school play is Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and Lina is keen to play Juliet. But the teacher-in-charge, Miss Deepa, thinks she's not "fair" enough to play the part. The explanation given is equally ridiculous: England's population during the Bard's time was also very fair. It's enough to crush Lina's spirit and get her thinking about whether she is the problem. And that inferiority complex fuelled by bias often materialises in the form of fairness creams and other chemical gubbins - which can be observed in the mini doodles illustrated by Aditi Shastry.
Rasil Kaur Ahuja
The book's story is Ahuja's own, too. Over a phone call from Bengaluru, Ahuja, 48, shares, "From the age of eight to 12, I lived in the US, in a multicultural part in Northern Virginia. I was educated in a public school with a diverse population; there was Edward from Taiwan, Kwang from Vietnam, Theresa from Indonesia, Rachel from Georgia and Ricky from Washington DC. So, I was colour blind, although my experience was very out of the ordinary." But on returning to India, she began to hear comments about her skin colour. At 13, she started using fairness creams, which came with a promise of being prettier and likeable.
It was years later, in 2015, that the thought of writing a story around it came to her. "It bothered me that parents and grandparents were slobbering on SPF 100 because there was this possibility that you could prevent yourself from not burning, but 'darkening' in the sun," Ahuja says. While doing research on sunscreens, she came across comments on products where non-Indians asked questions like, 'Did your child get darker after using this?' "It blew me away. I realised this was all of our stories and that this book had to be written," she says.
Ahuja followed a meticulous writing process, starting with a character study; it was important for her as a Sikh, to have a Sikh protagonist (Meher). "I'm not trying to be a crusader. Unfair is the story of many women my age and I think what's more unfortunate is that it's the story of the next generation as well. Realistic fiction must speak the truth," she maintains.
While tackling a deep-rooted issue, Ahuja doesn't fail to serve a slice of humour, too. That, she explains, came from looking at things from a child's point of view. "It was also important to bring in the science and tell kids why they are the way they are. And they want to know. Don't tell them that white is pretty, and that they can become lighter-skinned. No, you can't unless you do some serious damage to yourself."
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