Have you ever been a victim of colourism? Have you ever been told to use native/home recipes on your skin to lighten it? If so, then this is a must read for you as it not only talks about how to overhear such useless and meaningless societal comments but also makes you realize how strong you are and can be from within once you start embracing each and every flaw that you carry. 

Sriram Y. , a self-portrait photographer with a social media fan following of more than 64 thousand people, was a victim of colourism. During his schooling days he was a kid who struggled with self-image and was a sufferer of bullying at an early age. Being insecure about his skin color he did not have a very smooth and a cheerful school life and as a consequence of self-hatred found himself entrapped in the nets of skin whitening creams, home remedies, face masks and whatnot. But rather than being faint hearted and instead of locking himself in the room and sighing and wishing for fairness, he accepted himself as he is and followed his passion for self-photoshoots. In one of his interviews, he even mentioned, “I’ve literally searched on the internet - how to become white”. From being at such a point in life to reaching where he stands today, he fought against all the odds and stereotypical images of being beautiful.

Amazon’s Fashion Campaign - Looking Beyond Oneself

In a country like India, since childhood, we as human beings are made to believe that having a slim body and fair skin contributes to a great extent in being called beautiful. 

The one great example of all times is the winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant - Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Priyanka is among those Bollywood actresses who have faced denial across various endorsements in her career for having a dusky skin color. Today she is India’s one of the highest paid actresses! 

It’s relieving to say that with the changing times, the industry standards are also getting molded. Today the fashion industry wholeheartedly accepts faces and bodies that are breaking such stereotypical aspects being declared in the society for decades. 

One such step of welcoming all has been taken recently by a famous e-commerce platform - Amazon, irrespective of colorism, racism, gender norms, and ageism. Amazon has taken it to everyone’s heart by launching its latest Fashion campaign #HarPalFashionable where it banishes all the self-doubts and transforms them into the beautiful feathers of self-love. 

Sriram’s Journey with Amazon’s Fashion Moment - Tu Khul Tu Khil Har Pal

With Amazon’s availability of a diversified collection across its fashion category, Sriram has got to experiment with his style and beauty choices at ease. He now loves to do photoshoots and portrait self-images with confidence in his body language and how he carries himself around. He started off by taking his photographs with whatever he finds himself surrounded with, be it some fruits. Vegetables or flowers or even grass! Today when he dances in front of the camera, he feels so comfortable being himself. 

Philosophies that helped Sriram to follow his love for Photoshoots

• One doesn’t need a well-developed and heavily equipped setup to start with a passion like photography. Sriram never missed a chance and proceeded with his shoots, surrounding him with fruits, vegetables, plant pots, etc. 
• Being consistent and patient with your work will surely pay you one day. So never quit!

In one of his Instagram posts, Sriram has mentioned that it took him endless shots and sleepless nights to reach the point where he is today and this is all because he pulled himself together whenever the thoughts of being lonely cuddled him. 

• Rather than focusing on the harsh comments and taunts that people pass on you, it would help if you concentrate on the things that make you happy about yourself and feel confident. Following his passion for beauty and fashion photoshoots which acted as an anchor in his life, he was able to cope-up with tragic school life.
• Never ever for a moment humiliate yourself for your imperfections. Embrace your flaws as they are a part of you. Accept them today and never allow a single soul’s meaningless words to reach your beautiful heart. 
• When the sad times come, never lose your heart. Like a flower who sees and bears all the shades of roughness on it and still blooms with full colors, the tough times are for you to get stronger with each passing day. Smile and get ahead with what you started. Don’t let yourself be called a quitter because that is something that anyone can’t accept deep in their hearts. 
• Above all, the zeal to do constant hard work with full dedication always reaps the fruitful results, ensuring your intentions are pure, and causing no harm to others. Opting for shortcuts on the roads of success might make you achieve something in the short run but are always painful in the long term. 

Looking at Sriram’s journey considering his struggles with being bullied at an innocent age is a remarkable instance of self-love and self-acceptance in Indian society. He even said this in his interaction with the media that if the fashion industry has started accepting people with not so-called “beauty standards” then the society and we as responsible citizens should do the same as well. 

One should not hesitate to compliment a lady with a dusky skin tone and should not be ready with hundreds and thousands of pieces of advice on getting slim and toned if met with a healthy body structure. Having said that, let us all take this as a positive change in the mindsets of our people and start encouraging everyone and anyone we meet dealing with low self-confidence and self-esteem and help them make their every moment fashionable. Because when the change starts from us, the ripple effects of the same go a long way. 

Also Read: Kiran Verma: Raising Blood Donation Awareness