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To what extent is one willing to go to be perceived as nice-looking? How does one's perception of beauty affect one's social and professional interactions and judgments? As we are increasingly pressurized to follow democratically elected versions of beauty in order to obey a shallow political consensus, there are thankfully some countercurrents whereby a formula-based approach to beauty is being recognized as harmful to humanity.
Even cosmetic companies and designers are feeling the need to cater to a wide variety of people across the world instead of trying to homogenize humankind in to a single beauty paradigm. A wider frame is being sought within which to assess beauty in terms of improving and maintaining health and well-being instead of limiting it to a sexual qualification on the matrimonial resume.

Research shows that even the purportedly most beautiful people in the world are insecure about their appearance, meaning that the search for the holy grail of personal beauty which is ultimately related to the individual's quest for happiness eventually becomes a sadistic joke. No amount of plastic surgery can cure a restless soul from feeling inadequate unless the weightage for appearance as part of a quality life is reduced to reasonable limits, both for the beholder and the beholden.

Concluded.

* Contributed by: -
Remya Mohan,
Alumnus of SCMHRD, Pune,
Currently preparing for the Civil Services Examination,
Published work in PIONEER and THE INDIAN EXPRESS.