My mother grew up in a large, sprawling house with six siblings. Which means that I have 12 cousins whom my mother can call out to cite good behaviour.
The extended family congregates for my grandfather's annual shraadham. And after the prayers and smoke, it is time for a meal of light banter and teasing updates. It is also a time I feel very proud of all of them.
But when the men quickly disappear after food to find an AC, and the women settle down to serve themselves... I become disillusioned.
Is this my family of professors, scientists, geek techies and financial wizards? Can not even one think of serving food for the women who made them.
Maybe it is the mistake of all these women. As the firsts who had to prove that they could have paying jobs, they raced through everything.... chores, careers and children's homework.
Maybe, they just didn't have time to stop and ask, cajole and coax, or demand any help.
But then my youngest cousin brother, of his own, races between mother and aunt and demanding cousin sister to serve hot vadais.
And I know that someday at lunctime, we will make one large semi-circle - all of us cooking and eating and teasing together. Someday at lunctime...
Friday, 9 April 2010
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My nephew is a slothbear
5 comments:
It's said the more things change, the more they remain the same. But then change does take place...so there you are! :)
Have you read Virginia Woolf's essay 'A room of one's own'? If not, here's the online link:
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200791.txt
Though it would probably be more satisfying to buy the Penguin Great Ideas series version.
Keep writing :)
hey anvita~! thank you! :-) :-)
sometimes that things remain the same is so true and so scary too... and yeah, we do grow up to be our mothers. :-)
virginia: you wouldn't believe it.. I just read the essay in some guardian publication of speeches.
Thank god for a foreword that explained the context.. otherwise I would have been lost. And I definitely can do with some re-reading.
:-) :-)
In return, virginia on jane, that was so revealing to me: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/woolf/virginia/w91c/chapter12.html
Yes, I have read Virginia Woolf's Common Reader. It's a part of my life's ambition to read every word written by her :)
In 'A Room of One's Own' there's a very interesting discussion on various writers of fiction who happen to be women...her analysis of Charlotte Bronte as compared to Jane Austen is very illuminating. And what I had in mind when I referred the essay to you :)
soundd like soemthing i thought a wile back wen we had this family gathering..sometimes i think its a very mallu phenomena
hey H.G.,
I feel it is not restricted to any one community. sadly though... and like anvita says, how much has changed and yet how little...
:-/
but lets not give up.
cheers, and thanks for stopping by,
window siller :-) :-)
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