"What was that again about "the way to a man's heart"?

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I remember a time, a long while ago, when I was young and sprightly. It was a time when I used to go shopping on my scooter, buy a week's stock of vegetables, wash them, chop them, cook them and serve them up with a smile at meal times. Even if I say it myself, everyone (including my better half) used to appreciate my cooking, leaving me with a nice,warm glow inside.

Tiimes changed, I changed. Gradually I started to feel the need for help with my domestic chores. Initially it was help with chopping. My "woman
Friday" was reasonably adept with the job. With the advancing years and increased job pressures, I soon needed a cook.

This is where the problems started. My first cook Latha was a smart a**. A bit too smart for her own good. Give her an inch and she would take a yard. (Actually you did not have to even give her that inch. She took the yard anyway). Since I was the one in need, I did a fairly good imitation of Nelson (I was very impressive at turning a blind eye) , in order to get my job done. She was not too bad with her skills and picked up our brand of cooking pretty fast. So I was no need to complain. However, there was one problem. My better half, was pretty peeved by Latha's attitude. His disapproval of her attitude seemed, strangely enough, to have a direct link to his taste buds. No matter, how good the food, something was always lacking. Either it was not sufficiently cooked, or it was too spicy or the salt content was too high. It could never be right :rant . He soon was a very bitter half. Sighh!

Eventually I landed giving Latha a really long rope. Predictably enough she herself. All I had to do was tighten the noose for not coming regularly, by cutting a bigger chunk of her advance from her salary. She quit the job the next day.

Three days later Meena arrived on the scene. She seemed at first to be too dumb for me to do anything with her. But as before, I needed her, even more than I needed Latha. However, with time, she settled down and did manage at last to get the hang of things. My bitter half slowly started showing more interest in his food. He found Meena to be a "simple soul" compared to Latha. Now he regularly polishes up his plate without much ado. I do not have to narrate any long stories to get him to gobble up his food. He is no longer so bitter.

The whole string of events set me thinking. I have always heard it said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Now I would have to rethink that proverb (based on my own experiences) and modify it to "The way to satisfy a man's taste buds is through a dumb cook" :!: Apparently he was very happy with the food, only if the cook was not too smart.

Now if we accept this hypothesis, where does that leave me? Remember he loved my food?

 

nithya ma'am, coffeelover,

thank you for your kind words. i really need the appreciation to encourage me. thanks once again.

 

thanks omsrisai.

 

hi suresh, lalitha and debimyrt,

thanks for you encouragement.