It's seven o clock on a not so pleasant Monday morning and Vasu, who is only half awake snoozes his alarm for 5 more minutes. The alarm was originally set to 6 AM and probably for the nth time he snoozes it again. On the other hand, Siri, Vasu's wife who is long awake, is found in the kitchen cooking the meal for the day. She is worried if she can prepare the lunchbox for Nidhi on time, as her school bus arrives in the next 15 minutes. She constantly looks at the fast ticking clock wondering why it appears only to her on Monday mornings that a minute only has 10 seconds, probably the effect of Theory of relativity, she tells herself. Meanwhile, Vasu's alarm rings for (n+1)th time and this time, when he was about to snooze it again, Siri walks up to bedroom and says in a serious tone, "Would you wake up today Vasu? How many times will you snooze? The phone will die of low battery just because of your multiple snoozes!!" Now, Vasu lazily wakes up and starts his day. Her serious face turns into a concerned one when she sniffs a smokey smell, and she immediately rushes to kitchen to stop the dish from being overcooked.
Amidst all of these, Nidhi is seen holding two red ribbons in her hand which she was supposed to tie her hair with, but she is keenly watching her favourite cartoon on TV, absolutely not concerned about getting ready to school unless forced upon and suddenly Siri enters the scene and turns off the TV giving a typical frowned look to Nidhi.
Enter the dragon, thinks Nidhi.
How many times have I told you not to watch Cartoon before going to school ? and also I told you many times to come to me with ribbons after getting dressed, says Siri tying the ribbons.
Siri quickly packs Nidhi's lunch and starts getting ready for work. Meanwhile, Nidhi's bus has arrived and the driver is constantly honking as he is already late by 5 mins. Usually Vasu helps Nidhi board the school bus but it's one odd day where he is still stuck in restroom and the bus has arrived. So, left with no choice, Siri carries Nidhi to her bus and now that Nidhi is aboard, she shows a sigh of relief. Vasu is sitting on the couch and on Siri's entry, he asks "Hey Siri.. would you mind making me a coffee. Meanwhile I will get ready to work." Without uttering a word, she goes into kitchen to make a coffee.
I hope you remember to pick Nidhi early today from school, says Siri handing over the cup of coffee to Vasu.
Yes. I do, says Vasu.
Okay then, I may get late today in the evening. I have a lot of office work pending. I have prepared enough food to last for dinner, if not order something for yourselves. Says Siri.
Ok. Call me if I need to pick you up as well, says Vasu.
After a while, Siri gives a parting hug to Vasu and leaves for work. A few moments later, Vasu also leaves for work locking the house.
4 PM the same day...
Vasu has picked up Nidhi and both of them are enroute home. Nidhi is seen staring outside deeply thinking about something.
Noticing this, Vasu asks, "What happened beta? Why are you staring outside. What's going on in your mind?"
I am thinking about morning's role taking activity in the school dada, says Nidhi.
What about it beta, asks Vasu.
So there was an activity where the teacher would show few pictures on the screen where a person is seen performing his/her role and we need to guess it, says Nidhi.
Ok it sounds fun. I hope it went well for you, says Vasu.
Yes dada, I got many right.
Great!! then what's the issue? asks Vasu.
I have observed that for a mother, most of the roles shown are cooking, cutting vegetables, getting kids ready, feeding children etc... and for a father, its going to work, earning money, driving a car etc... and since morning I was wondering who could have possibly assigned the roles respectively to mother and father? says Nidhi.
Before Vasu could utter a word, Nidhi continues saying...
Even in our home, mama does all the cooking and household activities, completes Nidhi.
Vasu smiles and rubs her head with his left hand as a token of appreciation for asking a right question. He somehow feels though she is just 5 years old, her capacity to think and analyze things goes beyond her age and he says,
That's a great observation beta. I am really proud of you. And to answer your question, there is no one who assigned the roles. They are just a result of some invisible rules of society. says Vasu.
What is a society dada?, asks Nidhi.
Vasu really doesn't have a sure shot answer because, most of us use the term society very often but there is no exact definition of it.
Assume society is like your school. I am sure your school must be having some rules right? similarly, society also has some rules, says Vasu.
Oh... now I got it, but dada, the rules of my school change frequently. My teacher says there is a committee which examines the rules periodically and suggests modifications. Does society has any such committee? asks Nidhi.
Vasu is awe-struck with Nidhi's question. For the first time, he felt, may be if there were any such committee to examine the invisible rules of society, the world would be a better place to live.
Sadly, no beta, replies Vasu.
Ohh... so mama will be doing household chores throughout her life? and when I grow up will I end up performing same roles as mama and compromise on my dream of becoming a lawyer? asks a desperate Nidhi.
Judging by the kind of questions Nidhi asks, no wonder law is the most apt profession that suits her personality, thinks Vasu for a split second, and then he says,
Nidhi, no matter what, me and your mama will make everything possible for you to achieve your goals. Whatever your goal is, work hard for it and achieve. Do not worry about these invisible rules. I will make sure to amend those if they are the roadblocks to achieve your goals. Got it beta, says Vasu.
Thank you dada, and congratulations, says Nidhi.
Why beta?
Now you are officially the member of the amending committee of society, declares Nidhi with a cheeky smile.
This is deep, thinks Vasu. Nidhi may not understand the deep meaning behind this statement but thinking further, why can't men from every household, who have been enjoying fruits of patriarchy since time immemorial, be part of this rule amending committee of society? It could be as simple as a brother defending his sister who wants to pursue a career independently, as against her parents wish to get her married. The world is rapidly making progress in many areas. For instance, one would laugh at the idea of smartphones a few decades ago, but now it has become a norm. While all these changes are rapidly happening, why is there a lag in changing our mindset?
This conversation with Nidhi made Vasu realize that although we talk about fancy words like Women empowerment on social media, real empowerment should start from every household. Women are given opportunities in the current modern world but, various dogmas and the so-called invisible rules of society are restricting them from grabbing the opportunities. The key here is not to be a pseudo - feminist but be an active member of the rule amending committee of society✊✌
Next day, Vasu wakes up at sharp 7 AM and is seen doing household chores along with Siri. To Siri's surprise, a minute now appears to have more than 60 seconds, again Theory of Relativity, she tells herself. Now she is using the extra time to upskill herself to climb up the corporate ladder...Nidhi is seen quietly watching both her parents and there is subtle smile filled with pride on her face...
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