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Getting
Younger by The Day
No longer the
tyrant, the new age mother-in-law is a spirited, friendly lady ...
we look at how she has changed over the years ... Remember
the seventies' mom-in-law ? On the wrong side of fifty, glittering
zari sari, head covered with a pallu. A woman whose
word was an edict carved on a tablet of stone. When she fixed her
gaze on the daughter-in-law, a chill descended in the house. Prayers
in the morning. Prayers in the evening. Day spent planning and
preparing meals, gossiping about neighbors' bahus and
often her own. The daughter-in-law was the helper in the kitchen
who also meekly did all the other manual chores in the house like
dusting, washing clothes and stitching apart from caring for the
kids and the husband. Now
fast forward to the present. The Sassu-Ma has changed. And
how! She is no longer the all-evil Bindu or Lalita Pawar. She has
shades of sizzling Rekha and Reema Lagoo's bubble.
The
sea-change has happened because both have learnt to
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Have mutual respect. |
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Never to be pushy. |
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Never to impose their
advice. |
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Remember each other's
birthdays and anniversaries. |
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Confide in each other. |
But more than
that the mom-in-law of today is a high-tech junkie glued to the
Internet sending and receiving e-mail at a furious pace. She can
swing a leg or two with her grand-daughter when the song is hip on
MTV. Early morning is jogging time. Mid-morning is kitty-kooing
with friends. Evening is gym and the pool. And nights are for a
meal at a swank dinner or pizza with grand-kids. Welcome
to the world of the new - and improved - mom-in-law. The
forty-something, dashing lady is intelligent, sensitive,
sophisticated and caring. For her the son's wife is more a friend
than a daughter-in-law. The two occasionally party together; shop
together and even swoon over Hrithik Roshan together ! Gone
are the days of the dominating and egoistic mom-in-law. She's
given way to the turn-of-the-century elegant, middle-aged lady
who's equally comfortable at parties as she is taking care of the
grand-children when her daughter-in-law goes to work. The
saas has finally realized that both she and her bahu
require individual spaces. This is apparent in the changed
outlook. The all-new daughter-in-law and Sassu-Ma are not
insecure. Surrounded by friends, they treat each other as friends
as well. Their relationship is of equals. They enjoy life together
but honour each other's privacy. That's the basis of their
new-found camaraderie. |
