“The food is amazing”, my aunt exclaimed! “Your husband is going to be a really lucky man”. And she chuckled.
“I didn’t cook”. I replied. “I served it though. And I’m sure that added to the taste” It was my time to chuckle now. I was so funny, I thought.
Well, I was not. My aunt didn’t find it funny. She rather found the matter serious. So serious that after dinner, she decided to lecture my parents. Rebuke them about how their 18 year old daughter, was at a serious risk of not getting married because she could not cook.
Statistics suggest that my aunt is not the only one who believes that I am in trouble. A lot many more Indians would agree with her. Because they are all in a strong agreement with the fact that a girl who cannot cook, cannot get married. Their argument is simple: You need to be a chef to run a family. Because that’s what girls are born to do; FEED PEOPLE!
Why? I question. Are you not aware of the fact that you do get cooks to work at your place? Pay them 5-6k a month, and you’ll have amazing delicacies, everyday. And the delight comes, without the tantrums of a girl. Good deal. Isn’t it? Who needs a wife then? Oh wait! How would a cook sexually gratify men? You cannot of course sleep with a lady who cooks at your place. And you can definitely not have kids with her. Status symbol bro! That counts. And hence, a sophisticated, elegant girl, who feeds you, satisfies you sexually and bear your kids thereafter is what you call a perfect wife.
Because c’mon. She is not an individual. She cannot dream, have goals or ambitions. Marriage is her only aim. And kitchen, her only destination.
Sick!
I don’t blame you society. The role for an ideal wife has been channelized through the role of a cook since time unknown. But when do we plan to change? Girls do not question a guy whether he cooks or not. We expect the same.
I’ll stay with the guy I marry, both physically and emotionally, support him through his thick and thin and love his family just the way I love mine. Or even more. And that is enough! My father thinks that I’m the best daughter. So why won’t I be a good daughter-in-law? Because I cannot roll round chapattis? Yeah. Why not? After all the shape of chapatti I make is in every way related to me being a wife.
Dear Aunt (and all those in consensus with her), I CANNOT COOK. And just so that you now, this in any way, does not makes me ineligible for marrying.
