Men Will Be Men!!

My recent break from work gave me ample time to ponder over the amusing and unadulterated world of hypocrisy that we live in. If this statement doesn’t make sense to you, the next one surely will! Men, in general, always like the same characters in other women which they detest in their own partners. I write from the belief that your head will nod in agreement, and lips curve into a knowing smile as you read through.

Ask the husband what he wants for dinner. Or maybe what is the latest news headlines today. You’ll end up as getting no response at all. Or, if you’re lucky, you’ll get that ‘Buzz off!’ expression. But when another female asks him about something as silly as what is a food pipe, just see the eagerness in his manners to explain it all right to her!

Complain that you’ve got a headache and see him react. He might be kind enough to suggest you to get a pill or a good night’s sleep or something. And how do you think he would comment, if this incident occurred between his friend and his wife, and he happened to witness it? ‘Poor Anna, she’s not well. Tch tch, Mac is so inconsiderate!’

When you’re pregnant, he’ll tell you blankly, ‘See, in these times, such things happen. Nothing to worry.’ And if his friend’s wife is pregnant, he will be all gaga to make her comfortable.

Upon the slightest provocation, laugh out aloud. Or just twirl that single lock of hair on your forehead constantly. I’m sure you’ll be branded as a bimbette. And, when the other woman does it, he will laugh along with her. And look appraisingly at her movements with her hair!

Dress up provocatively enough for his friends to take notice of you. He’ll NOT like it. Well, the way he reacts may vary. But when the other woman dresses up the same way, look at his roving eyes!

You think all the humour in him has dried up? Just look at all the jokes he can crack when in the presence of other ladies! As if he is born to make others laugh! Gosh! You just smile at the thought of the same face, solemn and forbidding, when he sits at the dinner table at home!

I cannot prevent a broad grin as I write. If any of you has ever been into a ‘friends-circle’ of the mixed sex, you’ll probably relate to what I say more easily. As soon as you have a new female entry into your group, the boys suddenly change. All attention on her. All eager to talk to her. And we girls immediately check out her clothes, the way she talks, the car her father owns. And then, gossip! Hypocrisy is in the air. And the one of this kind has always been in the air! Ask your grandma if you don’t believe me.

A SUPER-WOMAN’S DIARY..

Ever heard yourself being called a ‘Super-Woman’? Yes? Welcome to the world of hypocrites. This misnomer is nothing but a garb to exploit you that extra bit more. I pen down the honest confessions of my heart, without meaning offence to those of my tribe who REALLY believe they are super.

For myself, I do not want to be one. But I have no option. Giving up a lucrative pay packet in this rising inflation is impossible. Taking care, even increasing, my family, as a part of my social obligation, is necessary. Raising up the kid is my duty. As you see, caught up in this mesh of all such parts of speech as ‘necessary’, ‘impossible’ and ‘duty’, I have turned out to be a super-woman. Do I enjoy it? NO. I don’t. I know some of you will opine that I am a selfish mother, a non-obliging wife. But to make you understand the predicaments of the modern day SW is exactly what I wish to do.

Getting up late is a wishful thinking. Not even on holidays. Prepare breakfast, plan out the menu for the day, leave instructions to the cook, get properly dressed to work, get the kid ready, prepare all her meals, grab the tea, pack  food, drop the kid off to the day-care and phew!! I just narrowly miss my train to work. Reach office late, handle cases, draft agreements, get clients to sign deals. And not to forget the occasional screams from the boss for absolutely no fault at all. Attend the invariable client calls which ALWAYS happen to be scheduled just 15 minutes before 6pm. Sit back late, worrying all through the call if the maid has done the right number of chapatis, or if the kid is getting cranky. Catch a late train home, rush to pick up the kid, play with her for whatever time the left-over energy permits, freshen up and serve dinner. And lo! Even before I realise, it is bedtime. Office tomorrow so switch myself off. I complete my day as a SW.

Sunday, the only day the kid gets the mother and the husband gets the wife. Devote all the time and energy to them. Do all that they want you me do. And I spend my perfect Sunday as a SW.

 

Vacation. The husband needs to unwind. Beautiful places, memorable moments need to be photographed. The kid wants to be carried on the lap everywhere. Well, the SW in me comes forward. All throughout the vacation, I tend to everyone’s needs, undertake all the physical exertions possible. And it is a perfect vacation for everybody.

Yet, if I grumble, I am to be ostracised. How can I complain? Is it not a part of my duties? I am to suffice with kind phrases like, ‘I know it is difficult for you. But what can be done?’ Or rebuked with ones like ‘You are so irritating nowadays!’ Even ridiculed by saying, ‘We in our times have worked double this hard. We never complained. What is wrong with this generation!’

Well, friends, do you still believe SW is justified? Would I have been one if I had the option? Do you not feel respect, adulation and appreciation is what is required instead of this SW tag?

For those of you who have mothers, wives, daughters, sisters or friends working equally hard, just take time off from your busy schedules to say ‘Thank You’. No gifts. Just hug her tight and tell her you value all that she does for the family. She is not super. She is not a wonder. She is just another woman who works round the clock to let that smile on your face be. If she nags, be patient. Lend her a shoulder to cry on. Open up your heart to take in her frustrations. Encourage her by saying how good she is doing. Do not be judgemental neither take her for granted. This is the least you can do for your SW.