Irony!

Sri, I don't understand this kind of role allotments. In my house for instance, it is my wife who changes the curtains lights etc and not me. (No one can ask how many Balajis would it take to screw in a light bulb.). I on the other hand enjoy doing things like cooking. My daughter once painted our drawing room! Certainly not my cup of tea.

 

Now A days, the allotment has lost its meaning.Ithink even in olden days only at houses kitchen work was attended to by women. During marriages and festivals large scale cooking was done by men only.
In our houses gents will not be allowed to touch the broom stick and it was stated that lakshmi Devi will leave the house , if a man takes the broom.
Iyappa cult was started when Vishnu took the form of Mohini.
Narada was cursed by mahavishnu to become a woma Naradi.Naradi wanted to get married and bear children. But nobody was prepared to marry her. Then came an old sage and he was prepared to marry Naradi and took her with him. They got married and gave birth to 60 sons.
Naradi was fed up with family life and decided to leave for forest.The old sage also gave her permission.Naradi was converted into Narada and in the place of sage stood Mahavishnu.
all the 60 children prostrated before Vishnu and asked for support. Vishnu gave them a boon that each son will be the ruler of the area for one full year and after 60 years the first son will become the ruler again and so they need not worry about the separation from their parents. Those sixty sons are stated tobe Prabhava, Vibhava etc representing 60 Tamil New Years. and this new Year 'Jaya' commenced on Apr 14, 2014.
There are so many mythological stories about role change in Mahabharatha,
Shikandi and Bruhannala ( Arjuna ) are classic examples.
Role change is not a new concept in Hinduism.
As genetics becomes more advanced men may start giving birth to children also.
Genetics is an interesting science where we learn that a mere difference in harmones to the extent of 10% makes the male-female difference.
Jayasala 42

 

I don't agree with the notion that girls should be quoted "kitchen is ur field" and boys should do the "tool work"...

if a child shows interest in learning stuff either it is cooking or tooling they should be encouraged and taught..

that mind set should never be created in them, even for fun sake.. they should realize that every work that you do with care, is an art, and they should enjoy it ...

these statements that are made when a child is young will impact their mind set as adults...

 

Dear Srini,

Even before you said what your DD said, that wa sthe first thought that came to my mind as soon as I read your first line. But I do have to tell you that I am impressed - you seem to have done a good job of your kids if your son is reading a Hindu magazine. You have to tell me the secret. Perhaps he has well understood that internet and th einformation is there and so no hurry.

Stereotyping is quite common and it is a learning process as we all realize that the world is changing and our thoughts change too. Very interesting if we observe ourselves isn't it. Enjoyed reading it. Thanks.

 

Ever since I left India, I've realized that both cooking as well as being handy around the house fall in the category of survival skills, which are necessary for men as well as women.
Division of labour in the family should not be dictated by gender, that leads to stereotyping and imbalances in society.

 

dear srini,

I actually liked the first scenario. that is exactly how it shd be. our generation should educate ourselves with the latest in technology and the next generation take an interest in learning our scriptures and culture? ( they should definitely know about it even if they declare that they do not want to follow any of it )you have quite an ideal atmosphere at home, touch wood !
but stereo typing is what I have been against all my life. even as a kid if someone said "you have to do it, aren't you a girl?" I would just NOT do it. nothing irritates me more than that ) and this will go away with our generation.
so nice to see today's couples doing everything together.