“Man for the field and women for the Hearth"

These are the words of Alfred Tennyson that force me to think hard of the relevance in todays world. By nature, biologically, Men are goal oriented while women are more nurturing. But this does not mean stereo typing either gender in any way. I strongly and firmly believe that cooking, cleaning and sewing should be taught to boys as well as these tasks are not gender defined but very necessary domestics life skills which strengthen their personality. 

Can we overlook the fact that some of the world’s greatest chefs are men. Gordon Ramsay, Wolf Gang Puck and Sanjeev Kapoor, the Indian chef who has created a world record by cooking the largest Khichadi at the 2017 world food India convention or even India born Vikash Khanna who is a Michelin star chef of New York and was inspired to cook by his Grandmother at the age of 13.

Cooking is not a cake walk, it is a science, a skill which need to be practiced and perfected. There is science involved in every step, right from washing the ingredients to the final presentation and also in all its methods- steaming, roasting, grilling, baking or frying. The knowledge of cooking comes to the rescue of boys when hunger pangs strike them in the absence of cooked food at home, when an unexpected visitor turns up and they alone at home or when they begin life as a hosteller. So I believe cooking is a must have skill for boys.  

We are all familiar with the clean India mission launched on 2nd Oct 2014 and can you recall by whom? By none other than the most important and influential MAN of India PM Sri Narendra Modi. Since then we have seen many male politicians, cricketers and other public figures coming out on the streets to clear their vicinity of garbage and litter. “A place for everything, and everything in its place” is the essence of cleaning and I believe that boys should have cleaning and organising skills as much as their counterparts as it inculcates a sense of responsibility and discipline in them. 

The days when boys could be ignorant about things like sewing a button or repairing a loose hem are long gone. Sewing is a creative skill and an ideal way to learn engineering and design also. Learning how to construct something beautiful out of fabric is as thrilling as designing a machine or building. It teaches boys to be focused, patient and disciplined. What’s more! sewing and textile is a great professional and business field today. Against every Ritu Beri there is an inspirational Rohit Bal and for every Ritu Kumar there is Manish Malhotra. Sewing is undoubtedly difficult but an interesting skill for boys to learn. 

Hence, I conclude, emphasising that cooking, cleaning and sewing are exceptionally unique skills. Let boys justify them by learning them thereby paving the way for a well-balanced society, just the way it’s meant to be.