CULINARY SKILLS & MEN…??

Oh yeah definitely…visualize this…A corporate businessman and his totally pepped up wife who is also working. Wife goes away on a business tour and the husband stranded in the kitchen? Nah…being independent is more like it. A fast moving world as is the case now, has no time for people who sit back and relax, waiting for others to wait on them. Everyone has to know and learn everything.

As a woman entered the household of her new home, succeeding the commencement of her wedding, the responsibility of cooking and feeding automatically fell on her shoulders. Since one of them had to do it, and the husband goes out for work, the natural logic was for the woman to do it. Later on it became mandatory for the woman to do the cooking. The best part of the whole thing is that, it is the same throughout history in the innumerable civilizations all over the world. Cooking expanded in her very own private world. Sumptuous meals always came by his side from his woman’s kitchen, and the man had no clue as to the work behind all that. The woman took pride in her work. It was always magic. The man’s eyes frequently popped out and he had a difficult time finding his voice while he tucked in all those delicacies which his wife had prepared lovingly for him.

As time went on, the woman began to look out more into the street, than just an occasional glance apart from her backyard, where she had planted a neat kitchen garden. Neighbourly chat over the fence with the woman of the next house, usually gave her the information she needed. But as it goes, it wasn’t obviously enough. What can rival, a first hand experience. Thus woman as a person stepped out into the world beyond the threshold of her house and took the entire world by storm. It hasn’t abated since then. The result? Man was taken by a sheer jolting surprise. He very perceptibly didn’t expect his woman to take up so many other “unnecessary” responsibilities. After all he is the “actual” bread winner isn’t he? But he grudgingly admitted that whatever she was doing, his woman did a good job. But his woman didn’t neglect him either. She still cooked for and fed him. Emotions and the related feelings changed. Work, career also fought for the top most position in the woman’s priority list. Man at first resented this competition with inanimate objects. But the woman assured him, that she was still cooking for him and proved it too very cleverly.

Man was satisfied for the time being. He started to become proud of his woman…how she goes after what she wants…

The woman going out for work became a familiar, just-another-matter. Man soon learned to accept that he couldn’t take some things for granted. And ah, the grand finale of the whole thing…Man realized that he had to get into the kitchen at some point of time to try his hand at cooking if he had to survive when his wife wasn’t there (with due apologies). And thus began the entry of man into the Diaspora of the kitchen and its mysteries…

Arguments can be presented in numerous ways. One of the foremost stands for the want of independence. The need and the reason for a man to depend on a woman or any other source for satisfying the growls of his stomach no longer exist. No amount of excuses can fill up this void stretching between a man expecting to be waited on and the same man ending up in the kitchen cooking a feast…With women emerging out of their subtle shrouds into the dawn, men shouldn’t be too far from divining the fact that it is high time their biased opinions about the sharing of work in the household take a complete makeover.

Secondly, cooking hardly comes under a category pronounced as a fitting punishment meant only for people sitting at home. It is an enjoyable experience by its own standards. Men can definitely afford to know cooking. Instead of making the woman feel obligated as far as cooking and food is concerned, man might as well take it in his stride and learn. Of course, after being cosseted for so many centuries put together, men will be miffed slightly when pushed out into the open. But it will very surely do them a world of good. Just as women are trying to make a mark in the man’s world, it won’t hurt, if they at least take a sneak peek into a woman’s world. But men are as sportive as they are stubborn. Over the years, they learned to enter the kitchen and the joys of cooking welcomed them with open arms.

There are millions of men who have taken up cooking as a profession. Some of the best chefs in the world are men. Biased thoughts are a fashion of the yester year. Gender discrimination is hardly the hottest topic these days. Apart from the instance where a common man has been considered as before, there are men whose profession itself is cooking. Royal chefs, men who supply food for temple feasts, restaurants, hotels etc are only some examples. These men have been working hard at it through centuries too.

As I draw the line over here, it is to emphasize how important and enjoyable the whole aspect of cooking is…and giving you the assurance for it comprises of yet another story. Yep, cooking is definitely a whole bundle of fun. Check it out guys…