My Reservation for People with Not So White Colour

Having grown up with conditioning both by my Paternal and maternal Grand fathers who were both the colour of Ras malai and Ras gulla, that fair coloured people are attractive, good looking and beautiful, as a 10 year old I was foolish and ignorant to not buy  Gandery( chopped sugar cane) from thela wala( vendor) ,who used to be not too white in colour.I clearly remember telling my house help that I ll acquire the vendors shade if I ate food of his hand. At 12 ,I changed my school and the new school had a canteen where food was served with hands ( not gloved or even serving spoon). Once in class 9 I bought a 50 paisa Samosa after finishing my regular parantha achaar lunch. As I started eating it with a laal chutney( local sauce) ,the canteen boy came near me and I saw his burnt hand! My conditioned brain couldn’t digest his burnt and wrinkled hands sight and I threw the samosa I was eating.All foolish ideas flooded my brain for next half a day. Class 10 and first time my father got me crackers on Diwali, I was too pampered and loved to be given crackers earlier for the risk of being burnt.  I lit the Anaar thrice at Diwali night and it never caught light. At fourth attempt it burst as a cracker with my hand there( may be it had caught fire earlier). My hand was severely burnt.The boys above our flat were ncc scouts ND provided me first aid of cold water for 15 minutes after which I rushed to our family Doctor who treated my burnt hand with saline water and silver sulfadizine.My hand recovered in 3 months just before board exams. A good lesson learnt( why to dis approve some one on basis of their skin) , My best freind after this incident was some one who’s traditional family never considered her as of a colour demanded in Indian marriages. Even while helping patients, it’s ingrained in me that I get most attracted to those with not as white a colour! A major conditioning removed.