To my beautiful little small brown children.
Your food? Kichadi, dhaal, sandwich, or Manchurian? Ain’t a problem.
Your hair? 3a, 3c, thick, wavy, black, frizzy, curly? Ain’t a problem.
Your skin? Fair or dark or in between? Ain’t a problem.
The way you may smell? Ain’t a problem.
Your beauty? Light eyes, dark eyes, tall, short, Moti, mota? Ain’t a problem.
Your clothes? Sari, kurta, white tee, hoodie? Ain’t a problem.
Your gender? Ain’t a problem.
Who you choose to love? Ain’t a problem.
The dance and music you love? Bollywood, K-pop, Bhangra, b-boy? Ain’t a problem.
Your career choice? Engineer, teacher, actor, activist? Ain’t a problem.
There will never be anything wrong with who you are, your heritage, or who you want to be. Be true to your heart. It is never worth washing over a part of you to “fit in.” It will never be worth stifling your culture as if somehow, when you don’t acknowledge it, being a part of Indian culture will go away. You are a part of it. And that is a wonderful thing. And the others that have made you ashamed of it, or made you want to take your Indian skin and replace it with another color, they are wrong. Period. They are not bad; they are just wrong.
My beautiful brown children. You are perfect the way you are, and your skin and heritage are things you will never need to be sorry for.
[Read Related: After-School Activities With a Toddler and Older Kids-How to Make it Work]
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