'Go help your mother'
Now more than ever, I see my mom working in the
kitchen. With the increasing positive cases in the country,
the appetite of the people in Indian homes is also
increasing.
What was initially a desire to cook and bake and to try new
things is a burden now on Indian homemakers most of
whom are women. Now that we can't go outside to eat our
favourite dishes or order them in, we will ask our mothers
to cook them for us. She will happily oblige. All the time.
Indian moms are so burdened by the patriarchy that they
see it as a by loving gesture to cook for their entire family
and feed them constantly. To go out of their ways to learn
all these exotic dishes first on youtube and then make it
for the family while slogging long hours in the kitchen,
sweating and hurting by standing for so long.
The kids and other family members rarely help in the
process of making the dishes, but enjoy it the most and
give backhanded compliments such as, 'its better than
what we have outside' , 'its safer than what we have
outside' , 'we know whose cooking it' , 'we know whats
going in it' and many many more such 'compliments'
Earlier when I use to ask my mom that why do you do
everything at home on your own, she said "; Papa bahar ka
karte hai main ghar ka"
But now Papa is at home. Papa sits all day in front of the
tv. Papa uses his phone all day long. Papa asks you to
make tea atleast 7 times a day. Papa asks you to make
different eatables everyday.
Then one sunday he does the chopping, he shows his
blackened thumb from chopping for the whole coming
week. Boasting in front of the clan how he helped in the
"HOUSEHOLD" chores, of his own house. And my
grandma, goes all "haye, mujhe bula leta main kar deti
tune kyu kiya ?"
Then come Monday, Papa is at home. Papa sits all day in
front of the tv. Papa uses his phone all day long. Papa
asks maa to make him tea atleast 7 times a day. Papa
asks maa to make different eatables across the week.
Being a daughter in India is also no easy during this
pandemic because 'I am supposed to help my mother' in
the household chores while my brother whiles away his
time playing pubg.
I am frowned upon if I don't fill the waterbottles back.
How do I not know whats happening in the kitchen ?
How can I not be on serving duty ?
Why is it that whenever its about work my mom calls out
my name and not my brother's ?
Why is it that I am supposed to help my mother and not
anyone else ?
Why do I have to cut fruits for my adult brother ?
Why are women supposed to coddle and nurture all the
damn men in their life all through their life ?
Yeah so um, bruh help your wife!
- Sanjana Sachdeva