I was lying on the bed with a suppressed sob.  

“Have some coffee. You will feel better.” Ravi handed me a cup of coffee, as he sipped another cup. 

Quickly I sat on the bed. “Is that filter coffee? You don’t like instant coffee, do you?” 

Ravi smiled. “Relax. Let’s talk after you drink.” 

I felt a little silly that we were wasting our vacation over some stranger, a co-passenger in a train. Yet I said stiffly, “During the time I was studying, you used to cook lunch. But I too was not sitting there sucking my thumb. And these days, I do most of the cooking. How can you speak such untruth, and belittle me before strangers?” 

Ravi slowly sipped the last draught, his head bent in contemplation. “Come on!! I was just humouring Ratna. Her whole world is centred on the kitchen. For you, that’s only a part-time job, but for her, it’s her entire life. I knew you were irritated, but I thought you would get over such petty thoughts.” 

“Oh, petty indeed,” I interrupted angrily. “I would have cooked happily whatever you wanted, if only you ever told me. But you didn’t. On the other hand, even if I made some special stuff, you won’t taste it and say that you didn’t want me to waste time!” 

“Exactly. I didn’t want you to waste time, because I believe truly that you can and want to do other things in life. That’s a choice we made when we decided you should pursue your studies and have a career. There will be repercussions for every choice and we should accept them. Once in a while, I do drool over those delicacies our mothers or grandmothers made. But I can’t expect you to make them. We should have realistic expectations of each other. If a woman wants to go out and earn, folks at home have to make adjustments, and it’s not as though they are making sacrifices. In fact, you should demand that I cook or wash or baby-sit or whatever as a matter of right. Kitchen is not just your territory. You’re still conditioned to believe it’s so. Combining home and career — you believe only a woman has to do it. Or that’s what an ideal woman should do. But then, men should do it too. Since you haven’t yet accepted that fully, you feel others will make fun of you and think of you as a lesser woman. Even if they did, you should think so what? Let them think whatever. You should have full conviction in your belief system. Others will come around. Slowly.”  

I was still thinking of ways to retaliate….it’s somehow hard to accept one’s mistakes. Before I could say anything, Ravi said softly, “It has been a long and hard journey for you to achieve whatever you wanted to. We can relax now. Probably make some of those delicacies I crave for sometimes. Rice Sevai, for example. But we will make them together.” 

I jumped out of the bed and hugged him. “Yes, we will,” I said blushingly.