Little Things in Life.

Topic of Discussion: Little things in life.
At this supersonic fast paced life that we live in, it's hard to slow down for a moment and just look at the clouds or just even take a deep breathe to just let go of all you worries, just for a moment. I mean its really not any one's fault. Its a dog eat dog world and time is money. So can you really expect people to let lose, even if its for a moment? I think you can, because if you don't; the internal pressure just keeps building and you're bound to crack and destroy everything in your path at that point of time. Maybe you don't have the luxury to take a few days off just to relax and let go, like some people do. But that doesn't mean you can't let your hair down. Learn to enjoy the little things in life. Trust me, its these tiny unseen pleasures that make all the difference in your world.
When it seems as if the world has yet again taken you for a ride, only to be kick-out just before the finish line. Its heartbreaking. You are still finding a firm ground to stand on, is when you realize the importance of these little things like; reading a good book, watching kids run around in the playground, listening to your favorite album, or even just binge eating on fatty foods. They all might seem pretty lame things to feel so happy about and that's okay.

Just the other day, taking an off from my studies, I picked up this book called: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. Its about a girl suffering from cancer  and you get a glimpse to how such kids see the world when they know their deadline. Its pretty darn good. While we live in fear of the unknown, that is when we are gonna die; while these kids know their expiry date and actually live life to the fullest. Like we all should be living. All because these kids don't waste their time crying about the things they don't have or what could be, they take things as they journey through their limited lifetime. Its sad really, we as perfect normal healthy people need to learn the art of living life like it should be lived from a dying kid. Its all a matter of perspective, mind over matter. One of my favorite quotes is by the protagonist's love interest-Augustus Waters: "I'm on a roller coaster that only goes up, my friend." 

So you've had a crappy day? The worst day of your life when you feel like you've hit rock bottom and it seems like there's nothing you can do? Just take a breathe and look around, remember a time when you were happy, try to relive it. Look around at the clouds passing over your head, look at the beauty all around. Beauty is what you find pleasing and its a contextual term. I may think beauty is seeing a dog wag its tail when you pet it, or seeing your favorite film all over again remembering all the lines. Beauty and happiness go hand in hand. So my readers, I implore you to let lose once in a while and enjoy the little things in life. 

PS- Read The Fault In our Stars, I'm sure you will not be disappointed. It's a fresh and simple with a coat of humor. :) 

Who is thy fairest of them all?

Today's topic of discussion: The concept of 'gora' and 'kala'. I'm an Indian girl with dusky complexion and not to mention, a south Indian. In Indian society, the prejudice against a 'gora' or fair is considered to one of the top priorities or a tie breaker in some cases of matrimonial relationships.Yes, I'm NOT kidding. When men and women are looking for life partners, their basic need is to have a husband/wife of a fairer complexion. Fairness is equivalent to beauty, richness, superiority of a person. India spends almost 3000 corers of rupees on fairness creams and products; fair and lovely, Garnier, Vaseline, etc are minting corers money due to this prejudice. While they mint money, the native people are losing their self pride and self esteem, taking drastic measures to become "gora".
When my family and I meet people for the first time, after they scrutinize our appearances, they give us the benefit of doubt, and ask us again if we are sure that we are from South India! They seem flabbergasted at the mere idea that people from the south can be fair. My maternal side is very fair or "gora". So my sister has gone on my mother, making them both 'goras' while my dad and I are on a darker complexion or "kala". People ask us if my mother and sister use some special treatment to maintain such fairness and is so, to share their secrets with them. You can literally smell the air of desperateness that reeks out of them. Though I don't blame them. This society that we live in leads us to take such demeaning and pitiful measures. I have friends who rate people in terms of beauty with them being "gora" or not.
Even as kids, we've grown up seeing Disney princesses like Cinderella, Snow White etc who all are really fair. I mean Snow White's plot revolves around her being the "fairest of them all", in this very childhood fairytale fairness is being compared to beauty. As kids, we're told not to play outside in the sun too much as would get tanned and then nobody would want to make us their brides. I'm not exaggerating, I've been told this by my grandparents and elders.
Don't even get me started on these ridiculous advertisements where a darker skinned girl is denied a job or a higher position due to her skin tone, and suddenly she applies the product which turns her fair in a fortnight and she gets the job which she was previously denied. The mentality of the writer of such ad is too foolish to even comment on. How is ones capability related to one's skin tone? Even men are falling prey to such harsh norms of the stupidity of the society we live in. Now days men fairness creams are in fashion.
  Even though one of Shakespeare's most beautiful sonnets is dedicated to a dark-skinned women, in most of his plays, he refers to his female protagonists as fair and beautiful. In the dictionary of us Indians, beauty is a synonymy for fair.
Though I'm extremely delighted to hear that some campaigns here have started, specially "Dark is beautiful".
Its is after hearing about such campaigns', do I feel that make there is after all some hope in this society. That the girls of this generation can feel secure that there are people out their hiding and their silent cries of this discrimination or even racism based on this absurdness of skin colour. Someone is raising their voice, fighting for them, giving it all they have to change this ugly society and make it a better place for the future.