Are you in that stage of your 20s where you think you have lost it completely at Home? Do domestic chores bother you and suck the hell out? Are you that part of the crowd of women(not exactly ’cause you are just 20 something) who think who can’t be a ‘Supermom’?
Well, you can add me to your list of companions then.
You might be going through that stage where you cannot even think of marriage let alone parenting. Because you cannot cook! You just CANNOT cook. And what’s worse? You don’t even enjoy that daily chore. The major reason why you think you can’t be the super-cool person your mom is, is this! The kitchen- Every mother’s beginning and end to the day.
It’s what makes life complacent and complicated. Because in most Indian households, all the kitchen work is still done by moms, even if they work or not and basically, girls are expected to cook and feed everyone in the family.
And if you are a person who would happily trade that part of the domestic chore to anything else like cleaning dishes or the dining table after a heavy supper or even mopping the floor, let me tell you, you are never gonna learn to cook. Only practice makes you perfect. As simple as that!
I sometimes stare with wide eyes at how quickly my Superlady (a.k.a Amma) at home does this trick within minutes. Her hands are always at work and so is her thought process. She thinks only about ‘What to cook next?’ and ‘How to put some sense into the silly girl standing next to her who has no idea about the dishes that she prepares!’. Oh and also about how many milk packets are left in the refrigerator!
Also it is super difficult when you are in your twenties and still are clueless about it. At a time when most of the girls have become experts in this Art, you remain an amateur trying to figure out how to distinguish between Garam masala and Sambhar powder. It’s even more terrifying when you realise that you don’t find it interesting at all. I mean, your whole life depends upon how many dishes you can prepare for breakfast, lunch and dinner and go for a movie with your family without falling asleep!
It just gets worser when your maamis, aunts and uncles meet you during a wedding reception and they start discussing about your future(wedding, that is!). Now, here’s the major problem. You have to subtly tell them that you don’t know to cook and ensure that they don’t scream out in shock at this revelation and embarrass you in that social gathering. Which, in Indian families, is a task that needs careful planning before execution.
This is a problem that needs greater attention than the numerous other things running in your head like what you are gonna do with your life, dilemma between study and work, relationship issues etc, because every girl should be the pillar of her family once she starts one. She must be a ‘Supermom’. And she doesn’t have a choice, but to figure things out.
As they say, everything has its right time and there obviously will be one, when you will finally find an interest in our mothers’ traditional and most tedious task of ruling the kitchen.
P.S. All the mothers out there, it’s just a quick note from a twenty-something, insignificant girl who is confused with baking powder and salt.