Does skin color really matter?

While growing up, I thought black was just another color, though my favorite one, partially because I am color blind and it was the safest color for me to wear. Life was fine, loads of friends, no stigma, no social taggings, and then the world started changing around me when I moved out from home for education. I saw people being divided into, North Indian & South Indian, Fair & Black, Rich & Poor. While I was still grappling with this new world, one thing which was constant was that these divisions kept increasing with an increase in distance from home to the larger world. While the majority of people I met in my last 4 plus decades of life were very positive, social taggings kept increasing, nationalities, color, language, body-shapes, accents, caste, creed, gender, preferences, etc.

Over last 20+ years of world travel, I have been respected, loved, cared, yelled, called names, profanities thrown upon, asked multiple times at stores if I work there, they these brought mixed reactions in my mind, and took everything in as stride in life and kept my moral and head high.

This present incidence of death of a fellow human for just $20 (and I am sure there are thousands other in the world which may not have been in news) has shaken my faith in human values to the core and make me wonder that while we are aiming to explore space, deepest depths of oceans, know the unknowns, did we, somewhere on the way, lose the art and urge to reach out to fellow humans and know about them, explore what’s on their mind, talk to them, understand their pain, share each other's happiness and see them beyond colors and stereotypes?

It makes remember the words of Baba Gulam Farid, a Sufi poet, and though written 100+ years ago, seems apt for times like these.

Color is Just a color, Don't Tag it to Humans.

 Kis Wal Akheya Ve Majnu Nu, O Teri Laila Disdi Kaali ve

Majnu Ne Jawaab Ditta, Je Teri Ankh Na Wekhan Waali ve

Je tu dekhe meri ankh naal, Teri surat na jaaye samhaali we!

ved vhi chitta, te quraan vhi chitti , upar syahi rakh diti kaali ve

Gulamfarid jethe ankhiyaan lagiyaan, othe kya gori kya kaali ve

(This refers to an anecdote in a famous love story, Laila and Manju, where the fair looking love-smitten Majnu, when asked, that her lover (Laila) is dark in color, proudly responds that you don't have the eyes to see the beauty. Stressing on the power of black color, he highlights that all holy Scriptures are just plain white papers until Black ink is used to write on them, to give them the status of "Holy". Where you have love, eyes don't see color anymore)

Recent developments in the USA have disturbed me to the core and I strongly feel all of us do need to do our bit as individuals denounce this. Let's pledge to be unbiased and make world a safer place for all.

#Alllivesmatter #blacklivesmatter