As a child growing up in Kolkata, I was often told to “take care” of my skin, especially as I spent hours training in martial arts under the harsh afternoon sun. What began as seemingly gentle suggestions soon gave way to more pointed comments. By my teenage years, hushed conversations around my marriage prospects had begun, with relatives debating whether my “darkness” would be a liability. My mother’s rules were unspoken but clear — avoid the sun, wear full sleeves even in summer, and always keep a tube of Fair & Lovely close at hand. In so-called progressive Bengal, being “wheatish” was tolerable. Being dark was not.

The recent suicide of San Rechal, a 26-year-old model from Puducherry and an advocate against India’s deeply entrenched colourism, hit close to home. Rechal was confronting an entire cultural system that told women like her, and like me, that we weren’t enough. That we had to earn visibility by erasing ourselves.

Rechal didn’t just walk runways, she dismantled them. Crowned Miss Puducherry in 2021 and later Miss World Black Beauty, she challenged every norm that told her she couldn’t be beautiful. She went on to create a mentorship platform........

© Indian Express