The kitchen, possibly the most appetizing word for mankind since time immemorial, is the place where our absolute trust and hunger-related needs rest for the daily supply of our dishes, the more delicious the dishes, the greater the anticipation and trust satisfaction. . The home is where the kitchen is, that is, we invariably refer here to the kitchen that each home has. From the steaming cup of tea in bed in the morning to the last bites at dinner, we lovingly follow the activities of the kitchen, every day. Kitchen aromas or fragrances, whether they come from our own kitchens or from the kitchens of our neighbors, never fail to energize us in the moments before the final acts of eating or devouring or swallowing. When the guests are around, more delicacies are cooked and… well, those are the heavenly moments that most of us must have experienced or still enjoy in life.

At the risk of being labeled as macho or misogynistic, we must say here that, in a way, the ladies always rule supreme in the kitchen and, under normal circumstances, take great pleasure in their authority. This fact of life must have its roots in the traditional way of life, with special reference to India. In ancient times, the father or head of the family used to work in the fields, factories or offices, and the housewife wife was in charge of all the domestic chores, including the most crucial job of cooking. As their children grow older, the father seeks her help in the workplace, and in the case of the girls, the mother seeks her help in cooking and cleaning. Therefore, ladies get cooking experience from a very young age.

Men display a variety of sentiments towards cooking, whether in the ancient or modern days. Some of them have great interest in cooking and sincerely help their wives when the need arises or not, constantly bragging about their cooking skills. And other males constantly boast of their complete ignorance of cooking, hoping to elicit sympathetic laughter from their fellow males through this rather discriminatory sentiment. To the later variety of males, the ladies react hostilely, for obvious reasons. And, of course, the ladies continue to assert their authority in the kitchen area: dumping the men for dirtying the kitchen or dirtying their good cookware and all, forgetting, unfortunately, to appreciate how well the men prepared the meals. plates. Obviously, chaos would ensue if the items were distasteful.

The kitchen is also a potential area for conflicts of various kinds. The most serious conflict occurs when there is more than one overbearing lady in the house: as when a daughter-in-law enters the house, the established mother-in-law would normally resist any kind of interference in her favorite area, and at the same time, she may complain that the daughter-in-law is useless and doesn’t want to help her cook at all; the daughter-in-law may keep trying deftly and may or may not be able to seal her parallel authority in the kitchen, and in case she fails to play her role, she too will complain bitterly about an utter lack of freedom and faith. In the Indian joint family system of the past, all the inhabitants used to constantly focus on how to keep the kitchen policy free and peaceful. Although we tend to feel that this kind of political-cooking is a universal phenomenon, we should not ignore another fact that many glorious exceptions are alive and cooking.

The modern style of nuclear families has achieved pioneering results in making the kitchen totally private and totally free of politics, whoever the cook is, male or female. However, some ignorant and demanding men feel that the syndrome of an extremely privatized kitchen has robbed the dishes of delicious flavors. The hiring of kitchen helpers and the emergence of food aggregators have further affected the basic attributes of a kitchen. Again, this is not a widespread scenario, the kitchen essential still exists in all its charms in various homes of various styles and standards.

Continued exposure to cooking has also been shown nationally to lead to boredom, anger, and frustration in cooks. In the past, eating outdoors was almost a crime, and any member of the family who went out into the street had to go out only after having a full belly, even if it was five in the morning, and taking food outdoors was allowed as an extreme measure. . emergency. Now things have changed drastically. Eating al fresco has become a way of life: according to the ‘exposure’ phenomenon, all cooks, male or female, must be brought to a restaurant at least once a week. Once again, there are exceptions. Some people, who favorably discriminate against men, still prefer or demand only home-cooked food, on the dining room table, and in office tiffin boxes.

In fact, the months of staying at home because of the pandemic had done a lot to elevate the importance of cooking and home cooking, whether we like it or not. Conflicts of various kinds were also generated due to the phenomenon of ‘exposure’ and incidental kitchen nuisances such as washing utensils and cleaning the kitchen. Conflict is not new to humanity, and therefore conflict of any kind cannot in any way undermine the importance of cooking for humanity. The kitchen must live for the life and sustenance of human beings, in body and soul. A hungry body also makes the soul tremble, not me saying it, say the experts.

Another universal truth begins to beckon: the moment you watch the ladies (not necessarily ladies) walk into the kitchen, you become unbearably expectant and pang without feeling hungry.