Tales from India part 4: What it's like to be black in India

 ***Click here for part 1, part 2 and part 3***

 I'm black! That's something I've never really been consciously aware of. I've been aware of the fact that I'm female and that it might cause situations to turn out differently as a result. I've been aware of my class. I've been aware of my tribe. But never in my life has the colour of my skin and the texture of my hair been on the spotlight. In Americanah Chimamanda says that Africans only become aware of their blackness when they leave Africa. And I found that surprisingly true!

   Reception about the colour of your skin in India depends on who you encounter. If you meet an Indian one of three things is likely to happen:

1. They stare.
My friends and I have stopped entire market places and shops just because the people around stopped to guffaw at our blackness. All this despite the fact that I've seen South Indians with skin darker than my own.  If you're lucky,  that's all that happens. I have a friend who was on a plane to Delhi and an Indian couple switched seats just  so they wouldn't have to sit next to her.
We had people randomly take pictures of us as they passed or drove by without even asking for permission.
So yeah,  staring is getting off easy.

2. They get super excited.
Mostly about our braided hair.  I cannot count the number of times i was asked how it is done. Or  if i did it that way every morning and how long it took.  Or if that was my real hair.  I also cannot count the number of times that we all shamelessly replied with a yes to that question!
Then they ask you where you're from,  and how you find India.
They talk about how awesome the Kenyan cricket team is and they know the players better than we do (Honestly, I know we have a cricket team but I've never really given them any mind. And  now i feel so unpatriotic! Better google them)
They kept thinking that a certain tall Luo brother of ours was either Sudanese and Nigerian.
Occasionally, they politely ask to take a photo with you.

3. Nothing. 
They treat you like anybody else and life goes on.

   If you meet a fellow African,  they could:

1. Smile/wave. 
As if to say, "Hey,  I'm from the motherland too! I get your struggle!". Sometimes they go as far as saying an actual hello.

2. Stare at you then breeze right past. Seriously,  what is up with that? !

3. Engage you in conversation.
This happened to me once. I was standing  with a friend at the entrance of a shop in Bangalore, and these two ladies came up and introduced themselves.   They told us  that they were from the Ivory coast.  They Asked about where we were from and where we were staying and how our experience had been. This just gave me the warm fuzzies.

   So that was my experience with blackness. I cannot describe the sudden relief of being surrounded my so many people of the same skin tone at the JKIA arrivals terminal. It was normalcy after weeks of occasionally sticking out like a sore thumb. But I can say that being different did not dampen my experience of India.  I still had a great time and I learned not to take the stares too personally.
Ciao...