Macho Ado About Nothing

Just a few days back I saw a man on a promenade with a little baby on a pram. What was unusual about the sight that he was the only man in the jogger’s park devoting time to his little baby while rest of the babies in their respective prams had their dear mummies accompanying them. An average Indian mind would have dismissed it as a one off case pitying that either that baby’s mom is lost or he’s a divorcee. Since I belong to the majority of average Indians, I would have done the same had I not know the person in the case. Interestingly, the baby’s mama is very much alive and dots on her daughter and very much stays together with her husband and was very much home to take the baby out. Fortunately for her, the husband does not think that he’s shedding his macho image by talking baby out for a stroll when the rest of the fathers are home having a chilled beer with some snacks and glued to TV sets to watch how Daredevils beat Royal Challengers on their home turf. (If you are still interested why the mom did not make it to the stroll, then it was time for mommy to hit the gym to knock off some puppy fat; the husband volunteered cheerfully as he would get some difficult-to-get great moments with the baby…I know some cynics would still say, see given a chance he would still not go…no problem, there are people who miss the real point and go on a complete tangent). Anyways…How does it matter if the city life boasts of women having thriving careers with equal opportunities coming their way, when it comes to running the home show, men do shy away from most of the responsibilities. Ain’t it? How many men think that this is sooooooooo womanish to stroll with a baby in a pram in the park…Alright, for those of you who think that life changes after babies, then let’s keep babies out of the picture. Now tell me how many men think that cutting vegetables in the kitchen and cooking a meal is like taking over women’s work?...How many men out there would wake up early morning to prepare breakfast for both of them, pack it for themselves as well as their wives? See I have not even gone in depth to prepare a whole list and just very very few basic questions would provide answers. These are also the men who would criticize and poke fun at men who would babysit and indulge in nappychanging. To them I would say, it takes brave hearts to set a wind of change, it takes strong will power to defy social norms…to the trendsetters I would say, go on be a maverick and exhibit what is right and what is wrong…