Saturday, November 26, 2011

'SAAS-BAHU' a rare species

It seems to be a trend among the people these days to be running away from domestic chores or anything connected with that "D" word, i am fortunately not different from it in any way. With constant reminders to do this and that my mother-in-law seems to have shown the white flag. Basically the older generation has digested the fact about how scary the "D" word is to us. The fact is when something becomes an unavoidable chore the brain somehow creates new waves to run away form it. Life is now revolving around machines and thanks to whoever has invented them, for one thing they saves time and for another it helps the professional(not to mention lazy) to run away from "the prohibited area" called "Kitchen". A territory for which the battle for dominating took place once. Apparently it has shrunk into the status of a burnt 'cigarette butt". It has the memories of the past of the then "new bahu". Their first day i call it the "impression creator day" used to be the day for pleasing especially your "mother-in-law" with your excellency, dedication and thrive in doing each and every domestic chore in the house. The sugar coating, my darling though however obvious it seems doesn't have a long life. It breaks its charm once when the impressions have become "overly successful". One can actually get this feeling the very next day when you are expected to be doing every other chore in the house with your "sublime" mother-in-law(lets call her M) who sits on the that high couch and "dictates". If you have the feeling that youve finally got hold of her territory, sorry folks you're in for a big surprise. That was an evident "offer letter" for working under your "worst nightmare". May be these were the reasons for the word "domestication" to be classified. Lets not create a wrong impression in the mind of others that we can do every other work in the house and still stay quite and humble like the "impossible bahu's" in the serials. Today's "bahu"(B) unlike their contemporaries in the past have learned to emerge from the ashes of their ancestors. We are are not ready to be tamed or domesticated, and the strong expectation of sharing work is evident. Gone are days when most B's hide inside the pallu with a bent head. We have learned how to be self sufficient and has that "I DONT CARE" attitude and when dirty games are played, remember that we are the "guru" of these games. High levels of IQ and huge salary and high positions have obviously raised our status from being "the domestic goddess" to that of "urban queens". It is the one power of love and care that binds us and not Procrustean means. The traditional M's have no other means but to accept this. Apparently domestication is not a violation of rights but the "you have to do everything" attitude is the trouble. The previous conundrums created on this matter paved way to women to emerge out from the four walls and to understand the world, and once understood there is no returning. Im sure the traditional 'saas-bahu' fights are loosing their "star value" with women having no time "to think too much".This succession or change in phase of woman have created peace and harmony in the world called "FAMILY". There is a constant flow of positive energy pulling us closer to that happy circle with stronger bonds.

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