Should boys learn to cook?

‘Girls are no different from boys’-a modern saying for the 21st century girls. But it’s high time for boys to equalize with the growing potential of these modern girls. With the increased awareness among people and the speedy growth of the population of the middle class society, there has been a race to teach girls every possible thing so that they do not lack behind from the boys. This is done just for the cause of a good wedding groom. But these grooms are acquainted and carry knowledge only till the family bank balance. So it’s now a need for the boys to expand their borders and learn to cook.

‘Cooking’ by the boys clan is often seen as the activity to prepare a cup of tea or coffee or serve the readymade quick noodles. This is not cooking. Cooking is an art, a talent in humans that leads it to innovate. By mixing two separate food items, create a new exotic dish. So, boys must learn it-not the former option of quick preparation but the latter mentioned art.

Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage…….and all men and women are merely players……………….his acts being seven stages of a man.” A boy’s life starts from stage one but he gets his wife only after stage three. Hence, till then he is fully dependent upon his mother or a house maid or some local, decent restaurant for his appetite. Its just like working and being fed by a stranger, if not by mother. A boy of this century, this decade should be fully independent-right from his income to his stomach. He should be self sufficient enough to cook and cherish his own labor at the end of the day.

Often Indian colleges and hostels do not provide good quality mess or cafeteria and the students get to be dependent upon off-campus exotic restaurant like KFC, Dominos, Pizza Hut, CCD etc. This practice often hammers hard on pocket and there are often cases in the last days of the month when a student has to decide between an essential new book on market and a day’s four score meal. So, if this student had learnt cooking in his early days, he wouldn’t have suffered. A student can have an induction heater which is energy sufficient and the necessary utensils in the hostel room in which he may cook, if not a full meal then at least a part of it. Hostel is a group of student living together. Every student may take the responsibility of a particular part of a meal and work on it. And in the end, everyone would enjoy the meal heartily.

This was just the college life. After college the real life starts. The boy turns into an earning and responsible man and also an eligible bachelor. Many a time, it’s seen that boys stay away from their parents at the call of earning. This keeps them away from home food. Hence, if not learnt cooking, again has to be dependent upon restaurant or may be ‘dhabbas’, the latter providing no guarantee of hygiene. This practice decreases monthly saving either due to food expenditure or due to medical expense. This would have been avoided if he would’ve learnt cooking.

Now this eligible bachelor turns into a husband. If he has learnt cooking, he can be of great help to his wife. Modern women work and single handedly cannot give time to better cooking but with a ready helping hand; good, healthy and delicious food can be served on dinner table every evening.

If by chance, she leaves at the decision of destiny, the man would suffer. If learnt cooking, he still can survive by himself. If he refuses to re-marry and possess children, then too his childhood learnt cooking would keep his’ a happy family.

So, boys must cook. It’s not a matter of choice but a matter of need. It not only helps to lead a comfortable and happy life but also provide investment for old age by means of savings in the youth. In this way one can change the saying-‘Girls are equal to boys’ by ‘Boys are no less than girls.’