If Your Roti Is Not Round Enough, Would You Still Be Considered Daughter-In-Law Material?
"Hey, I need to start my day really early," stated Poonam to her husband. “Can you please hit the bed early at least today?” Replied her husband. “Yes yes, just finishing minor things” saying this she entered the bathroom for a quick shower and was stopped by the ring of her mobile phone. Poonam comes out to check her phone, which flashed "Shalini"; Poonam checks the time, it said 10:00 PM. She gives a stare at her husband and quickly slides onto the screen of her mobile phone to receive the call. "Hello", in return she gets no response apart from the background fan which keeps making noise. “Hello Shalini, are you there? Hello.. can you talk to me for some time?” Asked Shalini. Her voice did not sound normal. “Are you okay Shalini?” “No I am not”, she replied.
“I demand an explanation today. I want to understand where did I go wrong? Is there a specific mold of a good daughter-in-law?” She probed.
“Can you please calm down? Take a deep breath and tell me what happened?” Said Poonam trying hard to figure out why was her friend so stressed out. “I am able to manage the house without her presence and that too quickly and in an organised manner, then what is the issue?” Scratching her head, Poonam tried to figure out really what is the issue. Or should she wonder, is there supposed to be an issue? “Firstly, why do you feel you aren’t a good daughter-in-law? Where do you lack? Adopting a higher pitch, Shalini replied with a stern voice, “I fail to understand the loopholes too. Either I am dyslexic to not understand or they have some serious problem with me. Getting insulted and being reminded that I lack the quality of being a chef is the issue.”
“Com'on, I know you well, you are excellent when it comes to cooking, I can bet on it.” Said Poonam.
“Take back your words, I guess I proved you wrong.” Shalini reverted. Now that was a surprising reply which Poonam could not digest. “I managed the whole house without forgetting my daily morning chores, ensuring that everyone, count it as 6 freaking adults, have a smooth start of the day. Roti is the issue which I cannot handle. Rather than being perfectly round, it just differed in the thickness, however, I am smart enough and so I took help of my maid to get the job done. I felt getting the job done was the priority, but I was proved wrong.” Poonam could not understand whether she had to be a listening ear to Shalini or needed to advise her. In spite of living in the 21st century, we still live in a world full of 15th-century aliens.
Modern, sophisticated and the most important word "educated" group, that we all belong to, but Poonam wondered if we do justice to each word. “Are you there Poonam?” The question got Poonam back to the call. “Yes, I am listening!” Exclaimed Poonam. Shalini had stopped crying and was sounding better after venting out her frustration. “Okay, I need to hang up. I am feeling better talking to you. Hopefully, I will find the answer to my question someday.” Saying this Shalini hung up but left Poonam in a dilemma. Her mind was occupied in solving the equation
R = (Round) Roti.
Do you think a girl is said to be perfect daughter-in-law material only when the diameter of her rotis matches the benchmark set by her in-laws and society’s standards?