Mirror, mirror on the wall.....

"Mirror, mirror on the wall! Who is the fairest of all?"

And how I wish, out of a whirlpool of twinkling stars, a mysterious face would emerge in the mirror and say in a melodious voice, "Its you, my dear."

Alas! But that is not so. Because I am neither a princess, nor a beauty queen. And more importantly, I do not own such a magical mirror.

For ages, I have wondered, what it takes to be called beautiful?

Well, in my case, I find that I am certain things because of the things that I am not.

For example,

I am called fair because I am not dark.

I am thin because I am not exactly fat.

People are forced into saying that I look good because I am not really ugly.

But yes, no one has yet had the courage to call me 'beautiful' .... not even the most smooth-talking people that I know. Everyone has some principles, some integrity, you see.

In short, I am  slim, fair and good looking just because I am not fat, dark and ugly.

When it comes to understanding beauty, I am at a loss. I really fail to understand how fair translates into beautiful.

(Alright there! You may stop sniffing the air.... there's nothing burning)

But it is a fact that some of the most beautiful people I know have a rather dark complexion.

Its the same with the eyes. The lighter they are, the better they are considered to be. Mine are black in the shade and dark brown in the sunlight. Bah... not beautiful!

I have seen pictures of beautiful eyes in newspapers and magazines. They never cease to amaze me because most of them seem to have a permanently amazed expression in them.... as if they don't believe what they just saw!!

But I still admire these people for having the capacity to hold such a bewildered, amused,astonished expressions in their eyes for such long periods of time. Its not an easy feat. Believe me....... I have tried it.

And what about the hair?......... Silky, straight, well-behaved Rapunzel-like hair that has inspired many a poet...... beeooootiful, right?

I say, hair needs some personality too doesn't it? My hair has loads of it. It has its opinions too.

And tell me, what's wrong if one looks well-fed and content? One should be proud of it.

Okay.... okay :) 

I give up.

I admit that I am un-beautiful and I am going to stop being defensive about it.

But do you know, there is a positive side to looking un-beautiful.

I don't really have to bother about keeping up appearances in front of people.

A splash of perfume, a dab of powder and a full tummy ..... and I feel like a million bucks!

I consider it a privilege to look un-beautiful.

So, while all the beautiful people in the world worry about their looks, I look at the mirror and ask, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the loveliest of all?"

And the gorgeous creature inside looks at me intently, gracefully tosses her head, gives the most charming smile and replies,

 "Of course, its you, my dear."