(My London interview by Whelan Barze)
Shankar Jalota released his first book this year to help children embrace their Vitiligo
Shankar's Vitiligo is most visible around his left eye (Image: Shankar Jalota)
Insecurities are something that everyone will face at some point in their life, but the journey to being comfortable in your own skin is a lot more literal and challenging for some. Shankar Jalota was diagnosed with the skin condition Vitiligo, where pale white patches develop, as a teenager and was forced to come to terms with the reality that his appearance would never be the same again. The South West Londoner has released a book called ‘The Adventures of the Vitiligo Man’ to help children with the condition learn to love what makes them different. However, the journey to self-acceptance did not happen overnight for Shankar and it took him many years to see the beauty in the condition that made him ‘hate’ himself growing up. Shankar describes his childhood as being ‘quite normal’, growing up in a traditional Hindu family in Hampton. When he hit his teenage years, his world fell apart almost overnight when he turned 15. He said: “I had a lot of insecurities growing up. Puberty is a difficult time for any teenager. You’re changing everyday and you don’t always like what you see in the mirror." READ MORE: How vitiligo made hairstylist feel more confident than ever Shankar published his first children's book this year (Image: Shankar Jalota)Whilst taking a shower one day Shankar noticed an unusual white spot on his chest, He initially thought that it appeared because he ‘hadn’t been cleaning himself property’ and made several attempts to ‘scrub it off’ but had no luck. He added: “I thought that it was a skin infection or something of that nature. It sounds really silly now, but I tried to pour loads of Lynx shower gel onto a scrubber and just went at it. Of course it didn’t work." More white blotches spread to different parts of Shankar’s body in the following months, including his back and his leg, but it wasn’t until a white blotch appeared under his left eye that life became even more uncomfortable. Shankar attended a wedding and was confronted with questions by family members about the ‘spot’ under his eye. “I just remember walking away from the conversation as soon as I got asked about it. I didn’t know how to respond and I just wanted to disappear at that moment”. His grandmother would eventually notice the change in his appearance and told the teen to go to the hospital right away. "I hit rock bottom" After a few appointments the doctor diagnosed Shankar with Vitiligo. It can affect any area of skin and can spread over time and is most visible on darker skin. “The doctor said I’m really sorry to tell you this but you’ve got Vitiligo, also there’s no cure and it can spread and get worse. I hit rock bottom. I actually felt numb. I look back at that and I don’t know how I was able to continue with life. It made me hate myself," Shankar said. The teen would spend tireless hours searching the internet for cures to no avail. He decided that wearing makeup to cover the blotches was his only option. “I didn’t like wearing makeup but I just couldn’t face the questions and all of the people staring at me. The only people who knew that I wore makeup were my flatmates at uni and people that I trusted. My self-esteem was so low at that time” "That moment changed my life" Shankar is now at peace with his Vitiligo and embraces it (Image: Shankar Jalota)He attended Manchester Metropolitan University and studied Business and Economics, but struggled academically in his first two years. Shankar believes that the lack of confidence brought on by his Vitiligo played a big part in his poor grades. Whilst in the middle of his placement year when he was 23, Shankar forgot his makeup at his friend’s house and was left at a crossroads. “I was devastated," he explained. "I knew that I couldn’t miss a day of my placement but I also knew that I couldn’t face the world looking the way that I did. “Eventually my friend convinced me to go into my placement without my makeup and that moment literally changed my life. People did look at me and ask questions because they’d never seen me without my makeup before but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. "Gradually I built up the confidence to stop wearing makeup. My friends and family told me that I looked good and I started to embrace what made me different. After that moment everything changed for me. I went back to university for my final year and my grades improved massively. I was nominated for awards and I finally felt comfortable in my own skin”. Shankar’s confidence grew to such a point that he agreed to take part in a friend’s photoshoot and he made him see the beauty in his Vitiligo. Now aged 28, Shankar is a changed man on a mission to help others embrace their visible differences and has amassed thousands of followers on social media. He has also modelled for the likes of Boots. The author has also made appearances on BBC News, Channel 5 News and BBC Newsbeat to share his story and has called it his greatest honour to advocate for people with visible differences on such a big platform. 'Every child is a superhero' “My Instagram page was originally about celebrating who I am and then it transformed into advocating to help other people. When you get to that point of self-acceptance and you see what it does for you, you want to help other people reach the same point.” This year Shankar released his first book ‘The Adventures of the Vitiligo Man’ to inspire children with the skin condition to believe in their ‘superpower’. The story follows a young boy called Awais attending his first day at school who learns to embrace his vitiligo. “Funnily enough I’d never written a book before, but I had a little Instagram comic book series going about the topic and thought that I could take it further," he said. "This book is really my way of saying to everyone and kids primarily, no matter what you look like, you deserve to be empowered and you deserve to be your own superhero.” Instagram
Whilst the book is aimed at children, Shankar has also received feedback from parents and other adults who were touched by the book’s message. “It's hugely important that parents don't surround a negative perception around visible differences, in this case vitiligo as children really absorb what their parents think and feel and it becomes their emotion too with how they see themselves," he explained. “Instead, it is great to see your children's differences, vitiligo or otherwise as something so special. Feedback I didn't expect from both parents and adults in the book is that it helped them heal their inner child.