This blog is inspired by my own struggles with cooking and I am sure many of you might be in the same boat as me. Jotting down a few thoughts around how, what, why and when of it?!
So, Let's go back in time when the jobs were very clearly divided among men and women. Men were to go out of the house to earn a livelihood, provide food, protect their families and do all things that would justify the purpose of testosterone. On the other hand, women were responsible for nurturing, taking care of the family, looking after aesthetics and all the tasks related to the inside of a house, and cooking was one of those. For a very long time, this system was in place and it became a norm for men and women to do their jobs. As with many things, when a certain system - that might have been started for good - prolongs for a long time without adapting itself with time – it starts to outdate, benefitting only certain members of the society – in this case, it was men and women were confined to four walls of the house having less freedom in any of the decision making inside or outside of home. But as time went on, things started to evolve, slowly women realised they could do more than just cooking, and cleaning as household chores were not recognised as jobs in society, they didn’t provide you any financial support, or popularity in society or any identity. There was a revolution termed “feminism” starting from the West and as usual spreading to other parts of the world. With television, telephone and other mediums of communication coming in, more and more women started to feel that way.
Fast forward to Indian women who were born in the 70s or 80s who began to feel these changes, later in their lives, often when they were already married with children. Enter the GenZ women (born between 1995 to 2012), whose mothers raised them from the start to view themselves as equals to men in every field, including academics and extracurriculars. This generation approached household chores, including cooking, with a fresh perspective—there was no obligation to conform to the old ways. since these women were busy doing all other things- studying, career building and so on, we didn’t have time to learn to cook, moreover to prove that ”women can do what men can do”, we did everything but cooking because it was perceived formerly by the men as a women’s only job. Ironically, where women are left out of cooking, many men actually adopt cooking out of no choice or necessity or interest.
Meanwhile, many women from this generation now find themselves grappling with the basics of cooking, relying instead on maids and takeout. This reliance on convenience food has a downside—losing touch with traditional Indian recipes that we thoroughly enjoy and a shift towards less healthy eating habits.
Now, cooking has transformed from a mundane daily task into a novel skill that many of us feel we need to learn and master. Through this blog, I aim to delve into these shifts, discussing how we might reconnect with the art of cooking not just to preserve tradition, but to improve our health and independence. Join me as we rediscover the joys and challenges of cooking in the modern age.