The man of the house

If we can have housewives, why not house-husbands?

In this age of equality of the sexes, where the corporate landscape is littered with the achievements of women, why aren't the guys more actively reconsidering a new kick-back existence where they stay at home, shun the workplace, tutor the kids, blog every now and then (like me), and make dinner?

The idea isn't new, really. If you think about it, the dream of the man and the woman exchanging places has been around for a while. The theme of movies and books. "I wish you could, even for one day... see what I have to put up with!". I remember reading Turnabout by Thorne Smith, from my granddad's bookshelf where a husband and wife wake up one day and find themselves in each other's bodies. I didn't get past 50 pages. Regardless, I think the idea has wings.

Many years ago, I went on a trek in the Himalayas. Somewhere up there, there's a village called Malana (popl. 150), which claims to be its own independent country with its own rules. There's only one restaurant the 'foreigners' are allowed into - the rest of the village is off-limits to outsiders. The only other thing I remember about it is that the women were out collecting firewood and tending to the cattle, while the men sat around the village square, smoking pipes and playing cards... and looking out to see whether one of us touched something we weren't allowed to (there's a fine if you do). There must be something in this social order.

Back in the everyday world... if I find enough evidence of this concept gaining traction, enough like minds out there, I'm going to start a company that caters to the house-husband community. In the beginning, I'll probably sell home exercise kits, DIY video game rooms and tips on beating the stock market from your armchair. With wave 2 of funding, I'll probably open a few playschools for the kids, with attached TV-rooms & reclining chairs for the guys. Thereafter, the possibilities are endless.

I've even thought of a name for my company - I'm going to call it Homeopathi.

Hairlines

A few lines, then, on hair.

For the economy class, its the free booze. For the chosen few in first class, they now give you free massages on board. On some trans-Atlantic routes, they'll let you sign up to 30 minute slots to ease the stiffness-in-legs caused by the hardness of the flat beds. So you can work the muscle-kinks out between Reykjavik and random ice-floe. And elsewhere, they're also saying that you can now get married on certain Virgin America flights. Passengers may carry-on one laptop bag, and one wedding gift.

Amidst all of this, I'm wondering why no one has thought to offer haircuts on planes. The world's first h-airline. Tremendous potential if you ask me. Opportunity cost zero for the busy business traveller - time otherwise idle. Gossip opportunities for the ladies. Or a chance to get to know the girl in 34A. And a greater likelihood that people will pay a few bucks for this, rather than that pearl necklace in the High Life magazine.

I suppose there are a few teething troubles to sort out - like whether the FAA will allow scissors near people's throats etc. And what one does with all that hair on the floor. But elegant solutions can be devised.

Until that happens, the closest next step I've seen so far is a hair salon at SFO airport to kill the waiting-time. But I haven't had much luck there either. Once it was closed because it was 6pm. The next time I was there earlier, but it was closed because it was Sunday. Essentially, a service only useful to those who fly during working hours.

Kinda like a restaurant I knew in Malleswaram that used to close for lunch.