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Why should a mother be a good cook to be a good mom? And why are fathers exempt from this measure of good parenthood?
The dinner I made last night had a little less salt and my husband facetiously remarked – “You have been at home for a year now. Why don’t you learn to cook? Our son will be a year old now. You better pull up your socks, else he won’t be able to boast of his mother’s culinary skill and Maa ke haath ka khaana.” He laughed and I smirked. It ended there, but for me, the statement haunted through the night.
One distressed half of me was wondering, why did my cook go on a week long leave? Had he been here, I would have escaped such remarks.
But the other self-assured half was throwing questions for confrontation. Can a only a good cook make a good mother? Those mothers who don’t cook, are not good mothers? How come fathers are good fathers, when they don’t cook? Is cooking the only desired trait of a good mother?
My sanguine self woke up and assured me that a mother is a mother. No matter what the world thinks of her, she is the brightest star for her children. Her children always look upto her for the selfless love she has endowed on them. It is only her children who can feel the warmth of love and smell the fragrance of care with which their mother feeds them.
For her children, it doesn’t matter if she cooks good, bad or not at all. Because even a cook can do that for them. But a cook can definitely not understand the anxieties of children without their expressing it.
Only a mother can hear the unsaid words of her child. Only a mother can read his mind. It is a mother (if biological) who carries her child for 9 months in her womb. And it is a mother who brings them to this beautiful world.
Mother is the epitome of love, care and warmth. No adjective can justify her role and no author can define her completely. A mother’s love is as deep as the ocean and as endless as the sky.
It is only our Indian society that has defined that a girl making perfect round chapattis can be a perfect ‘bahu‘ and mother. But according to me, a family is kept happy not by expertly cooked food but by the positive aura of values, principles and respect for each other.
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I am a mother of a baby boy, a management graduate and a multi-faceted professional mom making home a sweeter place to live in. read more...
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If you want to get back to work after a break, here’s the ultimate guide to return to work programs in India from tech, finance or health sectors - for women just like you!
Last week, I was having a conversation with a friend related to personal financial planning and she shared how she had had fleeting thoughts about joining work but she was apprehensive to take the plunge. She was unaware of return to work programs available in India.
She had taken a 3-year long career break due to child care and the disconnect from the job arena that she spoke about is something several women in the same situation will relate to.
More often than not, women take a break from their careers to devote time to their kids because we still do not have a strong eco-system in place that can support new mothers, even though things are gradually changing on this front.
A married woman has to wear a sari, sindoor, mangalsutra, bangles, anklets, and so much more. What do these ornaments have to do with my love, respect, and commitment to my husband?
They: Are you married? Me: Yes They: But You don’t look like it Me: (in my Mind) Why should I?
Why is being married not enough for a woman, and she needs to look married too? I am tired of such comments in the nearly four years of being married.
I believe that anything that is forced is not right. I must have a choice. I am a living human, not a puppet. And I am not stopping anyone by not following any tradition. You are free to do whatever you like to do. But do not force others. It’s depressing.