Love In Laundry

“Rekha, bring a cup of tea for me. I am back from office.” Yes this is the scenario in many households during the evening. We mostly all have witnessed such a situation from our childhood. Cooking, washing and cleaning are mostly considered to be a woman’s job. Sadly, this is regarded to be perfectly normal in our society. These jobs have become a tradition in our culture carried from generation to generation.

Our children have seen their mothers cooking and washing clothes. As a result they grow up as individuals who expect their wives to cook and clean for them. From the very beginning when a baby is born, we categorise them as ‘Blue for boy’ and ‘Pink for girl’. But we cannot completely agree with the notion that cooking and laundry is only a mothers job .Today, the top ranked chefs in the world are males and there is not a single field where women have not shown their expertise; be it being a successful pilot like Sarla Thakral (India’s first woman pilot) or being recognized as India’s first female stand up comedian, Bharti Singh, they have proven their worth in a male dominated society.

Since our childhood we have seen detergent advertisements featuring women. However, the good news is that there are many families who #ShareTheLoad. For example, in my home, my Dad prefers to wash his own clothes. Our India is changing and most of the couples are working, so it is high time now that when both the partners go out for work they should even do the household chores together. Performing tasks and assisting each other also enhance love and affection between the partners. In our busy schedule we often complain that we do not get much time to spend with our mates and loved ones, so it would be a great idea if husbands, brothers and fathers extend their helping hand to their female family members in laundry.

Why not find LOVE in LAUNDRY, or in more Indianized terms – ‘Pyaar ke do pal?’ We have to teach our kids from the very early age that laundry is not a women’s job. Kids imbibe things faster. What they see they learn. Let us all make it a point to share the burden of “she” gender especially in front of our kids so that our generation changes for good, and change will surely come, gradually. When our kids will see their Dad helping their mother, they will change their thinking pattern and likewise our generation will change.

Thanks to Ariel for showcasing an innovative advertisement and bringing forth a new aspect of laundry.

I am joining the Ariel #ShareTheLoad campaign at BlogAdda and blogging about the prejudice related to household chores being passed on to the next generation.
 

 

With Love, My Sister

“Having  a sister is like having a best friend you can’t get rid of. You know whatever you do, they will still be there” – Amy Li

You never realise the value of someone until and unless you are apart from that person and this also holds true in my situation. I have never been separated from my family. In my life of twenty six years I didn’t come across a situation in which I had to stay alone. My schooling, college and then my job all happened in my home town. Though this sounds strange it is true in my case. But then as people say “Ek din har ladki ko ghar chor kar jana parta hai,” so the day came when I had to finally bid goodbye to my family and shifted to Gurgaon with my husband.

And then it all started those precious memories with its beautiful stories. I miss my sister the most, with whom I grew up and shared the bits and pieces of my everyday life. Sisterhood means having a friend who will be there for life.  Growing up with a sister is the best part of my life. Going to school together, mimicking our teachers, studying,  having our dinner,  watching  TV and those innumerable things of daily life which I  never thought to be so meaningful  have suddenly become a cherished memory of a lifetime. I can never forget those evening walks on our terrace, strolling together, gossiping and giggling.

I remember sitting on the sofa and enjoying hot cup of chai and snacks. Taking selfies and pleading her to take my pictures in a better way and from different angles pissed her sometimes. But when I take a look at those pictures in my cell phone, I feel elated and think these simple things of everyday life add fun and little tadka to our memories. Shopping together and eating out on weekends were so much fun. She is always there to decide if I should buy a particular dress. Whether it’s painting our toe nails, and deciding which shade to apply or just lying down on lazy summer afternoons, she is my perfect companion and partner in crime. I miss my sister when I lookout for dresses or footwear because she is my stylist .She is someone on whom I can lean on for my fashion tips. From teenage crushes to awkward secrets we shared almost everything.

There are hundreds of incidents

And awesome memories

Those brightened days

And sunset glories

Growing up with you

Is like a joyful ride

I miss you sis

Standing by my side

Thanks to HDFC life for helping me revisit the sweet memories with my sister: https://memories.hdfclife.com/message/p6z-MWeyIkoIT6huMCkKUw==

Share your #MemoriesForLife like I’ve done at BlogAdda for HDFC Life.

Staircase to LOVE –The Rope Way

Every girl wants a perfect guy - tall dark and handsome, he who can sway his open arms in between mustard field like Shah Rukh Khan from DDLJ. I wished for a perfect fairy tale love story, but destiny has planned an arranged marriage for me. I met him for the first time in a cool November breeze. He was standing calmly looking at me smiling, shy. We got married after a few months with doubt and confusion still haunting at the back of my mind. We went to a lovely hill station for our honeymoon.  As he is tall he used to be always ahead of me and I would be left behind but he realized it soon and held my hands while walking. He always stood by my side and waited for me to catch up with his speed. I was too much excited the next day as we went to an amusement park. There were many kind of fun as well as pulse racing rides in that park. Now my husband is not very sporty kind of person. He is indoor type who is comfortable in reading a sensible novel or watching a movie. In that amusement park the most dangerous ride was the rope way which was almost  1800 metres high and underneath lay deep blue water and gorges and mountains.

The scene was breathtaking. I insisted my husband that we will ride the rope way. I could feel the tension on his face but as I was adamant on my decision my husband reluctantly agreed. After a few minutes we were seated in the cable car. We could feel strange sensation in our bodies. Strangely my husband was not at all nervous; it was me who was behaving like a sissy nervous rat. In fact I felt something churning in my stomach but my husband was bold enough to support me and he held me tightly in rope way and looked at my eyes. For a moment I was all lost into him, a moment so beautiful its expression cannot be defined in black and white ink. It was like a magic with a scenic beauty alluring us around. My husband even cracked silly jokes about jumping from the rope way for more thrills which made me laugh out loud. He made me feel comfortable in his arms and I lost count of time when the ride ended. On way back to hotel I felt happy and relaxed that I found a new person in him and all my doubts and confusion looming somewhere in the backyard of my mind suddenly vanished in chilled air of hills. Sometimes a sensible hare is better than a quirky rabbit.

 This post is a part of #LoveAndLaughter activity at BlogAdda in association with Caratlane.