ARTICLE
from knowing only Pakistani or desi Chinese dishes a
few years ago, to adding Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine (amongst others) to her résumé. The idea remains
the same though: submit to your fate in the kitchen and
channelise all effort towards pleasing your 'sasural' (in
laws) through swelling their 'tonds' (potbellies). Maybe,
today will be my lucky day. Maybe, by some twist of fate,
it will not be raining marriages on morning TV shows
and instead, it will be the home remedies day. A subset
of which is weight loss day, which is really a misnomer
because the last time I drank a concoction for seven
days in a row, I lost nothing but my mind. Maybe now
they'll come up with a new way to feel bad about our
bodies.Our hosts have been given the task of keeping
women's minds from exploring anything beyond activities perfectly in line with our highly patriarchal society.
Yes, they may dedicate a show to talk about the Kasur
child molestation case, but only as an afterthought, not
as precaution. Rarely will there be a serious discussion
on reproductive health, community service, tolerating
the 'other' or human rights.In a country plagued with as
many issues as we have, it is imperative to empower the
'gharwaalis' so they, too, can evolve into independent
thinkers, in order to add more value to a society whose
foundations are shaky at the moment. Morning shows
get this invaluable two-hour window of opportunity every day, but they are hell-bent on keeping women in a
perpetual state of giddiness, mirroring the emotions of a
new bride.So, when the aunty from upstairs goes on and
on about the new lawn print out in the market and how
she will have to resort to robbing her husband's wallet
for it, I am reminded of a Jaun Elia couplet:
Kiss liye dekhti ho aaina,
Tum tou khud se bhi khoobsurat ho
(Why do you stare in the mirror,
You are more beautiful than even yourself).
As for me, I will just let my remote find BabyTv, which still
has more value for grownups than the inane circuses
underway on our morning shows.
9 | BOOM