Image for representation.
Credit: iStock Photo
The age-old saying, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” sounds jaded now. Just like the gender-equaliser parallel: “The way to a woman’s heart is through a man’s purse.” If the food-to-heart maxim were to be true today, then in most homes it will be the cook, not the lady, who will be pulling the heart strings of the man of the house!
For, almost every home, of whatever size and denomination, has a cook, irrespective of whether the homemaker is employed, unemployed, or underemployed. Reason? The hands of the lady are full—keeping online tabs on kids at school, working from home, logging in for online classes in singing, dancing, fitness, public speaking, et al. And it is an open secret that most ladies have never trespassed into kitchen territory either during their premarital or marital existence.
Another growing fad is the availability of cooks. It’s easier to find a cook than a top servant for household chores like cleaning, washing, swabbing, and laundry. I remember the sixth maid I interviewed in two weeks subtly hinting after a half-an-hour’s interaction: “I can also cook. I mostly cook. I will be housekeeping only in your house.”
As for the quality of cooking, leave alone the quantity, which is always enough to feed an army? Does the food tickle the palate and make a detour to the heart? Don’t bet on it. The popular Mangalorean tawte koddel (cucumber cooked in thick coconut gravy) will be a Bengaluru variant with little coconut dunked in a whole lot of masala powders. Don’t even dream of the signature puli-munchi gassi (tangy fish curry). Dreams never come true!
Most of these fly-by-night cooks can roll out decent wheat rotis (breads) with aloo-matar (potato-peas) sabzi. Even if they hail from the millet-eating belt, they will feign ignorance about making jolada rotti (jowar roti), as it’s not a labour of love.
There is a third-party intervention option too. Most are adept at ordering the choicest food through online delivery partners like Swiggy, Zomato, Dunzo, Porter... You will be spoilt for choice. But don’t complain if the delivery charge doubles the bill or the food is like cold cuts.
Finally, coming to the gender equaliser part. Why shouldn’t the man of the house cook? Of course he can. It is the happening thing in many nuclear homes. Perhaps, the new male chauvinist belief is that, if Cupid’s arrow misses the mark, “he” can at least ladle his way into his lady’s heart.