Sanjana sat with her laptop to prepare an essay for the contest to be held at the Ladies club on “Women’s Entrepreneurship in India-Hindrances and Remedies” on account of Women’s day, the next day. With all difficulty, she did all possible arrangements to wind up early at office to come home soon and prepare the essay.
So, here she starts “Women Entrepreneurship in India is………”
So, here she starts “Women Entrepreneurship in India is………”
[There rings the doorbell. Sigh! Disturbs the tempo, she goes to check who’s at the door, the newspaper agent for his bills to be cleared].
Forcing herself back to the mode, ok….hmm.. she continued from where she left, ”… a serious matter to be discussed and dealt with. Women, despite having the potential and the apt education to make it big in the society, yet are not into the entrepreneurship, at a significant level. Even if they are, just in measly numbers. If the hindrances are to be analyzed … ”
[A voice from within says it’s 5’0 clock and time to pick her daughter from the crèche. Off she went on her why-should-boys-have-all-the-fun?-bike to do the same very quickly to be back with Sara. Don’t traffic jams have their own say? At last, come they did. Freshening up of Sara, cleaning the lunch box, some snacks for her followed! Sigh!! With all the energy levels dipping, she realizes that her essay is dangling in a state as worse as it can get.]
With all the determination to bring a decent half-essay up before her husband returns, she keeps Sara busy with all the toys to stop her from disturbing her. Rightly, Sara didn’t disturb, so engrossed she was in playing with the toy Kitchen set. Man! she was preparing quite some delicious dishes. Don’t moms know the toys the kids like? Toy kitchen set for a girl!! However much she tried, her concentration frequently deviated to watch her kid play, with the ‘Kitchen set’. Was it the kitchen set or the kid that put her to thoughts, is still a matter of thought. While witnessing her daughter play, her inner voice makes another entry to tell her that the salt has exhausted and needs to be bought for cooking. Again, down the flight of stairs, the shop two houses away, salt-shopping, up the flight of stairs, all holding Sara in one hand. There she comes to the door, huffing and puffing, Pawan, her husband waiting at the door step all tired after a day’s work. So, tea and biscuits to him followed. Now started the cooking for dinner. While she just answered Pawan’s eager question on what was cooking for dinner, the coriander charred to death in the pan!! Sara, toddling in the kitchen, to explore high-end girls-toys(?) made Sanjana keep one eye on her, and another on the rice that was cooking on one burner, curry that boiled on another one,chapathi flour kneading etc,yeah all in the only other eye left! Hmmmmpf!! At last, she didn’t fail to generate the aroma from the kitchen to have her hubby assemble at the dining table. Serving dinner for him done. Spoon-feeding Sara done. She also had dinner, for it can’t be let gone, if left , for how many days can one follow not-having-dinner style?
A look at the clock shows 10.15 p.m and God! Who would press the clothes to be worn for office next morning ? Of course, she! She did. Putting her daughter to sleep, more huffing and puffing, the only lullaby the kid is used to, ended successful! Now the time says 11.00 and after all the fatigue, she tries to pick up her essay from where she left it, “ ….. family commitment and lack of support being one….”
[Oops!! Something on the stove smells charred…God! Forgot to switch off the stove after the milk had boiled enough!! To the kitchen and back.]
Now, that’s it! Not a single cell in her body wants to go ahead with the essay. Off she dozes on the chair she sat only to realize in the morning that her essay is as-is. [It’s hardly a movie that an angel would come and complete it!!]. Her breakfast preparation would not let her tap the keyboard, so she wooed Pawan to write her an essay on the “Women Entrepreneurship in India-The Hindrances and Remedies” while she prepared Masala dosa to the family. And the essay that her husband wrote for her did win the contest!! If not for men, who knows the best reasons for the staggered Growth of women Entrepreneurs?
P.S: Inspired(?) by a true incident at office when a colleague,who of all,would not have spent time on women's issues sat and compiled an essay for his fiancee.It was presented later.It kept me stunned that a woman had to seek her counterpart's aid to discover what hindered women's (rather, her) progress!!
8 comments:
Are you trying to say that men know about women more than women themselves... I always knew this ;)
Nice read this one tells about how many tasks a woman a can handle at the same time... I always used to marvel at my mom for that.
@catch22,
True man! I too marvel at my mom for doing the things the way she does... me no way near that!
Well, I was trying to say that men know better the reasons for there not being too many women entrepreneurs... It was meant to imply that the defaulted house-hold chores can sometimes eat up women's ambitions. Although, I must admit, of late men do share some responsibilites,but it still remains an option for them, while it is never an option for most of the women.
@ Rashmi - Thats what I find it really sad about conventional notions of marriage, there being no option for women but to do the household chores. Atleast I would make sure that when I marry if I do :), then I would share every household responsibility possible, its hypocritic and chauvenistic not to share it, but most women in my community they are brought upto to take the role of house wife and nothing else, how badly I want to change that...
How well put !!! good yaar...
It is also very true as someone rightly commented that helping wife/mother in the household chores is a choice for men!!!
It is also to be noted that we women want to do everything ourselves...cooking, taking care of the kid...still not all of us ready to be out of the kitchen wrk...we shud also learn to delegate...get help from maid...have a cook..obviously u ll tire out doing evrything rt..???
Warning though:...ppl wud also say..."Oh my god, she cant cook for her family...she has a cook...y shud she work then???"
@ Priya - Yeah true there are many women who want to everything by themselves...but in a way I dont blame them because right from the young age they are told that their purpose in life is that and I have met women who feel guilty for not doing household work...I know its ridiculous but this thing has its roots very deep, good that its changing a bit now but still I feel the progress is very slow.
@Priya,
If women want to do everything, it's not necessarily out of choice, could also be because it's imbibed in them that not doing it can be sinful!
To avoid the guilt as catch22 rightly pointed out, they stretch I suppose.
And sometimes, in middle class families at least, having a maid for kitchen is a too sophisticated act,not even thought about,sometimes because of monetary status ,and most of the times, even otherwise.
It's perceived as if for women, working out of house is an option and working inside the house is what they are cut out for.
@catch22,
If you can bring your words into acts, man! no one else as lucky as your wife can be!!
Men are getting broad-minded,no doubt, but as you said, the awakenening is yet less intense and slow.Hope it changes for the better.
well written post, very much sums up the state of the indian working lady right now :) men need to realise and step in for the household work also. I have seen my dad (my mom is working too) helping her in every way he can, all my childhood it was my dad who used to make us ready for school and make breakfast as mom being a teacher would have to leave for her school early. If there are more men understanding like my dad the problem would reduce
@monika,
Spot on! Men should realise that for women to move forward in life . In fact, it ought to be mutual co-operation.
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