By Vikas Malani
We tend to admire ourselves every day in the mirror. Take care of our skin and look after ourselves to ensure that we look great. We panic if we see even one blemish or anything out of the ordinary on our skin. We run to our doctors and skin specialists to fix our facial flaws, no matter what extent we need to go to. Think about actors/actresses – be it Hollywood or Bollywood, don’t we hear about the multiple surgeries they go through to get the perfect look – maybe get their nose fixed or even to get the perfect pout.
Why do we do all this? The reason is simple – In the modern world, everything is superficial. External appearance is given more importance to these days. The first impression is created by how the person looks and not so much by how the person talks or the way they think. In India, looks do matter a lot. Even when it comes to arranged marriages, the appearance of the girl is the first thing that it considered. Women are shortlisted on basis of their photographs i.e. Purely on the way they look and later about their background. The question that arises here is, what about people that aren’t considered good looking or have certain facial flaws/deformities that can’t be removed or corrected? Are they simply to be shunned by the society?!
Acid: A Dangerous Chemical
When I, Vikas Malani, met the Acid Attack Survivors, I thought to myself – What can one do about this? These women struggle with their daily life for no fault of theirs. To have acid thrown on your face, for rejecting someone you don’t approve of is probably the worst thing that can happen to anybody. The acid, which is used is sulphuric acid. It is probably the most dangerous acid a person could be exposed to. Even at medical laboratories, this acid is used with a lot of care for it is known to corrode anything that it comes in contact with i.e., skin, paper, metal and even stones for that matter. Other than primary burns, it causes secondary burns due to dehydration. When it comes in contact with skin, not only does it melt the skin tissue, it deforms the bones as well. Due to such severe burns, it is almost impossible to reconstruct the face to make it look like it used to even after multiple surgeries.
Lives And Dreams Destroyed
When I met and communicated with the acid attack victims, I could not imagine the amount of pain and agony they had to endure. The attack not only affected them physically but also psychologically. The ordeal of having to undergo multiple surgeries to be able to get a part of their face back. They are not only looked down upon because of their appearance but they struggle on a daily basis to earn a livelihood. Getting a job or even stepping out in public becomes a task. They’re constantly stared at with a sense of pity or disgust. Having a normal life is so difficult for them. What I ask – Is this fair?
Like all other people, they too have a lot of talents. Everyone is unique in their own way. They have their own dreams and aspirations in life that have now been completely destroyed. This is because they can no longer lead a normal life like everyone else. Getting married becomes an even more difficult task.
Learning Tattooing
On interacting with them, I realized that they have a lot of potential and creativity in them with the determination to achieve something in life. By imparting knowledge of tattooing I have gathered over the years, I’m merely trying to help them become self-sufficient and be able to take care of themselves. For the ones that didn’t want to learn to tattoo, I gave them administrative and managerial training so that they could at least take on the role of a studio manager. The acid attack victims are provided free training across all BodyCanvas Studios. Also once they have learnt the necessary skills they are free to join any of the BodyCanvas studios as an employee. This is just my way of giving it back to society. By sharing my knowledge on tattoos with them, if it can be of help to even one of them, I would consider that as an achievement. I have also worked with Laxmi Aggarwal, who I consider my sister and try to spend as much time with her daughter and her whenever I visit Delhi.
They are normal people like us and deserve to be treated equally by society with a chance to rebuild their life with self-confidence. They deserve to be loved and respected by society. The society has no right to decide what is or isn’t beautiful. There is more to a person than just their physical appearance.
