Oh yes, a very pertinent question indeed. Can a woman have a career, a successful marriage, children and sometimes an extended family and yet have a hobby? Well actually she can: hobbies for women can be “a” single or a couple of hobbies.
My favourite topic in writing essays in the class of 70s was an essay on my hobbies. Yes, I would practically pray to have the multiple-choice options containing the one on ‘write an essay on your favourite hobby”.
Need for a hobby
Much water has flown under the bridge, many moons have come and gone, life and living have undergone unimaginable changes in the world today. But the concept and need for hobbies for women have remained essentially the same.
Woman of Substance
What began as an undertaking of the young mind to fruitfully engage in some activities that kept her busy in the interim and also helped to increase her chances in the competitive holy matrimony section, has developed into something multi-dimensional and spilt out to all corners of the present-day “Woman of Substance”.
In the times of Corona
Man has responded to the call of a crisis time and again and women more so. Amidst the hectic pace, we have come face to face with a virus attack that has more than enamoured us; it has stalled all our movements. And has locked us down too in the confinements of the individual safe haven of our house. That has given us a new perspective on hobbies and what they can do for us.
Newer Perspectives
Now more than ever before it has become essential to cultivate a hobby to allow us to add value to the infinite amount of time in our hands when we are forced to be at home. Holding a job, yet, stuck at home came with a serious consequence of boredom and excessive time in our hands. Time management in the work from home scenario, therefore, assumed a new place in our lives. And for those with no jobs or facing a sudden loss of one, hobbies is the only saviour.
Building a Passion
Painting
Indoor Hobbies for the woman of today are a wonderful mix of the older ones and a passion building exercise. It is never too late to take up the painting brush and dip it into the pots of colour. And start painting anything that catches the fancy. Being creative is the essence; being instantly recognized and rewarded need not be the motivating factor. However, a few things can be done:
- For the slightly serious escapades with the painting brush, one can look up online as to the innumerable books and easy guides on teaching the basic skills to draw forms and shapes.
- There are easy and free webinars and yes our very dear companion the Youtube and its innumerable videos.
- Hire a professional teacher
For the rest of us now is the best time to experiment without the confinement of training and giving a full go-ahead to experimenting with colours, texture, material and form of art.
- Painting up the old tea table, the faded clay figurine, the clay planters
- Painting up the section of the wall in the kid’s bedroom can very well become a memorable and fun-filled family event.
Do it yourself
This was never more relevant and engaging than now and helping out the youngsters in the family with their SUPW project work for school one can indulge further into creating a world of vision and utility combined, that not only is self satisfactory but helpful. Learning creating and making videos as one gets deeper into it can be a fulfilling experience and can be used to help others and make a personal website and become helpfully famous.
Stitching it up beautifully
Oh yes, this too! Hunting down the box of needles, threads from the recesses of an unused drawer can be cathartic as well. Hidden amidst the old redundant knick-knacks might also be that old book of embroidery that once featured prominently in the to-do list. If not then that too is not a problem really, the internet is full of patterns, motifs, designs of all shapes and colour.
The easy steps to making your own dresses/clothes for the family is just an internet connection away in our laptops, tablets and or the super cool note series of the Android and Apple mobile technology. Then there are the delicate handkerchiefs, cushion covers, and duvets that can be created and worked upon either from start to finish or embroidered upon. The things needed are really few basics
- Multi-coloured threads
- Embroidery hoop
- Needles
- Pattern book or image
- Pencils and scales to draw it out
- Scissors and
- Sewing machine for those interested in the bigger stuff like curtains, covers, frocks, blouses skirts and all that can be imagined.
- You can order everything and take delivery at home.
Gardening
This can be a peaceful and highly rewarding experience by itself. You can use the whole garden as the perfect place to display one’s creative skills. Just give it a boost with the greenery. Toiling around the garden is the best form of exercise that is good for the body and soul. For the city dwellers, flat with a small balcony, a particular window is for the flowers that need the sun while the rest of the foliage is concentrated around the ones best suited for indoor survival.
Indoor decoration takes on a new meaning. And you can redo these and start afresh. You can put in a pot that has been recently self-painted or rearranged on a table that too may have had a recent stroke of the brush.
Language learning
A perfect opportunity to take up the language course by subscribing to online classes and learning from the online material, webinars and one on one interactive and or audio sessions.
Online course in foreign Universities
Nowadays everything is possible and can be availed sitting in the comforts of our houses. As children could we ever think of intermingling Arts with Science and Commerce in our journey of Education? Well, thanks to technology and Corona we can apply for online certification in any subject of our choice. It may be as improbable as music and metaphysics to quantum to theology. Picking up one or many of these opportunities could be a great and fulfilling Hobby.
Culinary Skill
Developing the mundane into something exotic with some time, love, dedication, some flipping through the old recipe book or even actually visiting the kitchen when the matriarchs are busy preparing the delicacies to take up the ladle can do wonders. Then again you can develop it further as a home delivery business venture. And then, later on, you can expand it to sending lunch to offices too. Or a simple specialization cooking of making varieties of pickles, chocolates or cakes and starting one’s own business, practically with zero cost for infrastructure.
- Just surf the net some more for packaging ideas
- Buy few Tiffin carriers or Dubbas
- Bottles for pickles
- Read up on loads of innovative ideas
- Few phone calls to friends and relatives for the word of mouth advertisement campaign
- Have a website and promote and sell the products
Meditation and Spiritual practices
In our present stressful life meditation and other spiritual pursuits have grown in importance and popularity. Innumerable channels and videos are there to talk about the benefits to the human body mind and spirit. They say it is easy to achieve and can be considered a very helpful hobby indeed. In fact, you can practise it at home at one’s convenience, but regularly for sustained benefits.
Yoga and other fitness practices
Yoga is a great way to carry on with the fitness journey and can be done at home. I feel it is better than the gym and other cardio exercises and gives several benefits. If started early it can boost the immunity system greatly and make a person healthy at the core. A woman of today has many choices to indulge in when it comes to developing and practising a fitness regime.
- Enrolling in a class for learning and practising in a group
- Enrolling in an online class and learning the art
- Online shopping of the essentials of mat, balls, weights, exercise cycles and other related items can convert a room, a corner in the garage, in the balcony a perfect and make-shift gymkhana.
When change is the only constant adaptation is the only way. While Corona has taken away millions of lives it has made us stop and learn to think differently. We know the true meaning of flexibility, adaptability, and improvisation.
In the current perspectives, free time and its management have also created a need for learning new skills. This further creates an urge in upgrading older ones and sharpening on greater life skills. At a time like this, hobbies in general and hobbies for women can and do open a new world of strength, opportunity and new world order.