A Different Kind of Beautiful

If you asked the 9-year-old me who I thought was beautiful, I wouldn't have hesitated before my response:

"Barbie."

Her blonde hair, blue eyes and buxom figure epitomized the ideal I was striving for—an ideal that was out of my reach. I don't think it was an accident that I, with my olive skin, almost-black hair and brown eyes, was convinced of Barbie's perfection.

We've come a long way since then in terms of what we deem beautiful. Our society is beginning to accept different standards of beauty—hey, even Julia Roberts called Ash "the most beautiful woman in the world." But there's still a long way to go—especially in our own South Asian community (the day we eliminate from our vocabulary the word "fair" in the context of "fair and lovely" will be a giant step, indeed).

At Nirali, we're committed to celebrating different kinds of beauty and appreciating the types that often go overlooked. Inner beauty, for example, is the best kind—and it's showcased brilliantly in this month's features ("A Call to Service" and "Picking up the Pieces"). In "In Like a Lion," Toronto-based Vasanti Cosmetics shows us how to love our yellow-based, darker skin rather than trying to lighten it.

But what got me most excited was when I interviewed professional photographer Safia Fatimi for "Working Woman." Fatimi has flashed her camera at numerous celebrities and models for the world's top magazines. And even though she is behind the lens, she still manages to help redefine beauty standards in her work: "My photos have a feminine touch—I don't try to make the women look like sex objects." Amen to that!

Redefining society's standards of beauty begins with us. I hope this issue of Nirali helps you further appreciate the South Asian community—for all its different kinds of beauty.

Ismat Sarah Mangla
Editor-in-Chief