I eyed the pile of dirty dishes in the sink.
Even my own husband and now teenage son never helped while my father-in-law still lived with us.
Only after his father returned to his hometown could I convince and cajole my husband into equal responsibilities.
Hindustan Times
When India entered lockdown in late March, children were confined to home and schools conducted classes online.
My husband was buried in office work, and I could not expect much from my 10-year-old daughter.
The presence of perpetually hungry children at home meant I was cooking more.
The meals I make are complex and time-consuming.
And many Indian householdsours includeddo not have dishwashers, which means that dirty dishes are dealt with manually.
Plus, I had to help my daughter in her online studies.
I longed for the much-requiredbalancein my life.
One frustrating afternoon I took a break to sit down with a lemonade and shuffled through Instagram.
Inviting food pictures and recipes flooded the platform.
Like so many others, he too had posted cooking videos.
But unlike theirs, his food posts had a liberal dose of humor in Hindi and Punjabi.
In his posts Dosanjh does not remember the name of the ingredients that go into his dishes.
He further shows his displeasure by saying things like, Hmm, who is going to clean this?
His cooking videos, which are tagged with#iNeedMySpoon, are all the rage.
Watching his chicken curry video left my daughter in splits.
His posts brought in lighter moments to my otherwise boring life.
In these tough times, his antics, filled with unlimited doses of humor, kept me going.
His effortless comedy of errors is pure and innocent like a childs.
He forgets to fry the onions and ginger-garlic paste before the tomatoes in the Amritsari chickpea curry.
He comes across as a clumsy individual in the kitchen, your friendly neighborhood guy.
A messy room with toys strewn around reveals that kids have been having a good time.
A house need not be spotlessly clean but should be filled with warmth and love.
The art of attaining balance is in your own hands, and you must define it.
I understand the lockdown needs to be waited out by enjoying my time with my family.
I might not be able to write, but I get great stories by living through it.
