30-Day Writing Challenge — April with Keeley

Sun-Kissed, That Is What I Was!

Day 13. The most sunburnt you’ve ever been

Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles

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Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles

5 min readApr 14, 2023

I have super sensitive skin. Which means if you even casually grab my arm, you’ll leave marks.

I remember when I was five, one of my neighbors, another 5yo, bit my arm and I was miserable. I hoped my folks wouldn’t notice. Fat chance, though, because duh, I was 5yo. Also, my frenemy had warned me not to tell anyone. Well, he got a warning that he laughed off with every intention of making things worse for me.

Summer Time

During my childhood, summer vacation meant being out in the sun because–what else to do but loiter around, and play with our neighbors? I refused to nap in the afternoon like other good kids. A little sulky because my friends would go home and sleep, and I’d read or sketch or sing to myself or walk around the garden talking to the plants. And look at the clock three hundred times per minute to see if it was time for my friends to come out again.

And no, we did not even know what sunscreen was. I know it now but I never use it. If it is very hot outside, I just avoid going out. If I have to, I wear a cap or silk scarf. Or carry an umbrella. Or wear sunglasses.

Vidya Sury © at Lalbagh Botanical Gardens

Funny thing was, in the early years my grandma was afraid to let me out. No no no–not because I was dangerous, but because she was afraid I’d get hurt. I was also shy as a result and didn't stand a chance against the rowdy kids in our building. They loved to tease me.

Anyway, all that changed with Mama Life teaching me valuable lessons, mostly the hard way.

Long story short, yep–sunburn was a happy part of my life.

The weather I grew up in, in Mumbai was scorching hot but also sweaty. And as long as we hydrated our bodies and showered often, we looked good. I mean, basic hygiene.

I still remember how my mom, after I came back after play in the evening, would watch me wash my arms and feet and face, towel myself dry and then sit me on the table (I was a tiny kid) and give me the powder puff container. In ten minutes, she would remove me from the haze of talc and shower me with kisses. Hehe.

The places I lived in–Hyderabad, Madras, Mumbai–were all pretty warm weather, with Madras and Mumbai being bounded by the sea, so beaches.

Later, when I took up a career in sales–Hyderabad is famous for dry heat–I would go around on my scooter. And the most hilarious part was — the patterns of tan lines on my neck, feet, and arms — depending on what neckline, footwear style, and length of the sleeve I wore that day. Fun times!

There were days when even my face had tan marks — of my spectacle frame around my eyes! And then of course when I took off my bindi (that big red dot on my forehead) the skin shade there was/is way lighter than the rest of me.

At first, I used to be embarrassed about it, but then I learned to embrace it. People teased me saying I could skip wearing stuff as the tan marks would look like I was still wearing something. Very funny!

Oddly enough, I didn’t turn darker when I lived in Madras, probably because of the humidity and constant sweating. There, when we wore dark clothes, there were streaks of white on them, from the salt in our sweat! Crazy eh?

In Mumbai — I simply turned a shade fairer even though the weather is similar to Madras — both have wonderful beaches and yet, how the weather affects us is different.

And now, I live in Bangalore where we experience fairly clement weather, although the summers are getting hotter thanks to the construction overdose and tree-felling. Sigh. Still, I am grateful I don’t have a work commute to tackle.

Anyway — my worst sunburn marks were probably the tan lines that became the source of much teasing from my folks and my friends. Nothing close to what NancyO’s kids experienced in Florida!

P.S.

Can we please send Randy Pulley some healing vibes and love, please? (His post about his visit to the ER is here)

Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles ❤ Did you smile today?

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