Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash In recent Whatsapp discussions about work-life balance with a few college friends, an interesting claim was made, suggesting that women professionals are most productive after the age of 45. The indirect point being made was that, women usually remain busy with 'family responsibilities' aka child rearing until 45, after which they become more productive at work. I found this very objectionable stereotyping of both women, but also men. This statement was also tacitly claiming that men did not have 'family responsibilities' in their lives, and that men did not get busy with the birth of children. I do not deny that our societies are still far from being gender egalitarian - patriarchy is rampant and implicit even in modern society. However, that does not mean that the stereotype of an alpha-male who 'earns the bread' and beta-female who prioritizes 'child-rearing' needs to be perpetuated! There are enough men and women
Photo by Documerica on Unsplash They built a new 4-lane road near my house - a spanking new concretized stretch now exists in place of a dusty swamp which the locals negotiated on foot until recently. But its state is more like the Hindi idiom - गाँव बसा नहीं, लुटेरे आ गए (meaning: Robbery committed even before the Village could set up). Buses, trucks, and tempos park on one side, making it a single lane road. Most of these vehicles are parked all day - not just during the day or during the night. Why do these vehicles park on new roads all the time? For some, like taxis waiting time is much higher than driving time - certain cabbies can make enough in one trip across the city to earn a day's living (and they are often lazy not to make more!). Few other cars belong to residents who use public transport for daily commute, but need a car for occasional usage, and while they can afford to buy a car, they don't have parking space in their building. Further, India is far behind o