08/03/2026
This scene from Laapataa Ladies… the ghungat, the village setting… may make it seem like a rural story. But the truth is, this is the story of almost every household.
A woman casually mentions she stopped cooking the dish she loved because no one else in the family ate it. Such a small line, yet it carries generations of conditioning. Women quietly adjusting, accommodating, and putting themselves second without even realising it.
And it’s never just about the dish.
It’s about how her preferences slowly disappear from the table… and eventually from her life.
As a nutritionist, I see this every day. Women cook balanced meals for the family but end up eating the leftovers. They skip meals, eat standing in the kitchen, or fill up on chai and quick empty calories because “everyone else has eaten first.”
Over time, this over-assumed responsibility turns into nutritional neglect — low protein intake, fatigue, hormonal imbalances, low iron levels, and constant exhaustion that feels “normal.”
Caregiving should not mean self-erasure.
Your health is not secondary to your family’s. The woman who feeds everyone deserves to nourish herself too.
Maybe the first step is simple: cook the dish you love… and sit down to eat it.
