A Post on Profession

Once, Mrittika was attending her uncle’s wedding, at an age when young girls’ cheeks are responsibly pulled, and are listlessly asked, “What will you become when you grow up?” Mrittika never bothered about replying, because nobody had the patience to listen to her. They would run across to the next question, “Such a pretty dress! Who bought it for you, little one?” But, to a certain elderly aunt, she did expertly answer, “I want to become a housewife” and smartly pointed towards her mother, who at that opportune moment was deftly handling the custom catering and the bamboo tray on her hands with the flair of a pilot. Indeed, the job of a ‘housewife’ is one of the most benevolent in the universe.

The various aunts not paying attention for so long were taken into a spell of stun, broken by one of the several self-proclaimed uncles, “Wonderful, Mrittika! But wrong. That isn’t your mother’s career, it is her responsibility.” The collective marigolds lost their glorious sunshine.

As a literature student I was always bemused by the categorization of literary ages and historical centuries. And as a country, I am profoundly ashamed of the manifold tiers of unjust attitude towards everything, let alone women. Yes, as studies show, Mrittika was correct, most Indian women do work fulltime in their homes, as housewives. She is the central workforce around which the family is aligned. She is as true as that part of the human body, let us assume, the ligament, which we take for granted, or do not pay attention to. Until such time that the ligament is injured. As soon as the housewife malfunctions, the cooking suffers, the washing piles, the caring rusts. She is the epitome of a glue stick, on to which the elderlies clutch, the husband dumps his loose ends, and her child/ren look up to for building their lives. Eventually, she becomes the invisible superpower, and inevitably she selflessly starts believing in it by putting others’ interests over her own.  

But, wait. We were calculating the conclusion of Mrittika’s statement. Isn’t being a housewife equal to heading a company? She is the production-operations-logistics-sales-finance-HR lead rolled into one, and working beyond biometrics. The pathetic part, of course, is the pay – not only is there no remuneration, mostly there is also no gratitude and thus her role remains unacknowledged.

Uncle did mention it was not a job, of course. And responsibility never yields recognition. Even today. Whatever be the age we are living in. The housewife relentlessly and thanklessly performs her ‘job’ / ‘duties’ irrespective of interest or devotion. She is merely the baker because her husband is the bread-earner.

Little does Mrittika understand, she has unconsciously opted for one of the most demanding professions in the world. I can only hope by the time she gets into it, she sees the wrong in it -- of any work remaining unrecognized, or being draped as "duty."