"I was rather uninterested at first, and then taken aback when I was taken to see the Home Economics room at Sri Sri Academy, a high school in Calcutta. The teachers proudly showed me the first-rate equipment, the sparkling facilities and spoke about the kind of topics that were taught, which included cooking, nutrition, sewing, laundry, cleaning, interior decoration, and child development. My dated and uninformed response was one of disappointment. I rued the girls were still being taught and expected to be ideal homemakers, while society still makes their contributions in the domestic sphere invisible and undervalued."

But then, says writer Jael Silliman, he was pleasantly surprised. Read