Coronavirus Lockdown effects: Men learn culinary skills, share house work

The coronavirus-enforced lockdown has changed the perception that kitchen and household chores are a woman's domain, as men are also pitching in to share the domestic workload and in the process also learning and upgrading their culinary skills.

With people remaining indoors and many getting used to the concept of work from home, what has caught everyone's eye is men making a foray into the kitchen at home, trying their hands at cooking and showcasing their dish-making skills on social media.

"In the film 'English Vinglish', there is a dialogue where Sridevi says cooking is an art for men while duty for women. But, the art of cooking is not new to men with some of the top chefs being men," Anjali Bhat, a software professional juggling between work from home and domestic chores, told PTI.

"The perception that household chores is a woman's domain has changed now," she said.

Parikshit Joshi, an advertising professional, said before he got married, he detested going into the kitchen and reluctantly helped in washing the utensils.

"However, during the over 100-day lockdown and being home-bound, I started sharing some kitchen work. I started going out twice a week to buy vegetables," he said.

"Looking at the fresh vegetables, I started thanking the nature for its gifts to us. I started with a typical Maharashtrian breakfast dish of 'kanda-poha' and then graduated to cooking palak-pulao (spinach rice), rotis and vegetables," he said.

Last week, he tried making 'Misal-Pav', a spicy Maharashtrian dish, and earned praise from his wife and daughter, he said.

"I feel nobody is born a good cook and one learns by working on it. Cooking is so selfless, makes you stress-free and helps you feed your near ones with their favourite dishes. I would say this is the biggest discovery of last 100 days," Joshi said.

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Saket Shinde,who works in a private firm, said his contribution to household chores before the lockdown was only limited to buying groceries as per the list given to him, and calling an electrician, a plumber or carpenter whenever required.

"The absence of a househelp during the lockdown made it necessary for all family members to share the household work. So, I took up washing utensils while the other members indulged in cooking and cleaning the house," he said.

Prajakta Singh, a media professional working from home, said even though her husband prepares breakfast, she has to clean the kitchen after he finishes cooking.

But, the lockdown has taught families to adjust to each other rather than picking faults, she said.

"With my husband preparing the breakfast, I can focus on other household chores and prepare other meals early so that both of us can complete the domestic work and then do our professional work," she said.

Sorab Ghaswalla, founder of a digital marketing and content services firm, said, "As a husband, I would always help my wife at home. We had house help before the COVID-19 outbreak, but on their weekly offs or whenever they were absent, I would join my wife in doing the household tasks."

"I was never of the view that household chores are the sole domain of a woman. A man is equally responsible. But, as the task of doing household work fell on the family itself following the lockdown, I decided to do more," he said.

"It was never about my share or her share. So, for example, one day I wash the utensils, and the next, I sweep the floor. Every morning, both of us decide who will do what. Of course, our children also chip in. After all, these are our utensils and clothes, so whats the big deal?" he said.