Shweta Aggarwal on Clubhouse

Bio

Instigating change in colourism by writing my memoir.

THE BLACK ROSE - PROLOGUE

Ever wondered what effect persistent bullying has on a six year old? Ask a forty-three year old. Ask me.

Over the last few months, I have found myself sharing numerous stories of my past with my two children and husband. Triggered by the Black Lives Matter movement following the brutal death of George Floyd, and where I have experienced colour prejudice or insensitive remarks about my brown skin tone, my past has come back to haunt me...uninvited and unwanted. A ‘black’ past. Or as Indians would call it, a ‘kaala’ past.

Although I have mostly had a wonderful, blessed life, growing up between India and Japan, and now residing in the UK, there are elements of my past that were painful, to say the least. Painful because I happened to be dark skinned, born to fair parents. And this, by some Indians, was seen as an open invitation for taunting and derogatory comments.

For years, Indians have harboured the notion that being fair skinned is a ticket to superiority. That’s right - white supremacy doesn’t just exist among white people. Sadly, it is still the case, even in modern, ‘liberated’ India.

And for years I have tried to forget my painful past, like childbirth. But the remarks, even now, are relentless, leaving me festering like a sore. Hence penning my past is an attempt to face this colour prejudice head on.

They say, writers should write what they know. I am not a writer. My memoir is who I was and who I have become. As it’s a collage of extracts from my memory, digging deep from the tender age of 6, the rendition is not as clear cut as black and white. There are several shades of brown in between. No pun intended! Unraveling my story, I discovered more than I was prepared for.