15 Jun 2008, 0435 hrs IST, Priya Saxena & Ashirbad S Raha,TNN

NEW DELHI: Father is the new mother. This is the role which symbolises the 'new' man of today, as he takes centrestage on Father's Day being celebrated all over the country on Sunday.

"It is a changing world, in which the new father is walking into the arena of motherhood, which involves changing nappies to wiping the tears of his daughter, who just had a fight with her boyfriend," says Ranjana Kumari, chairperson, Centre for Social Research, encapsulating this year's theme — "Father and Families: Responsibilities and Challenges".

With emergence of the nuclear family system, the role of a father as also the mother has transformed. "My day begins at 6.30 am and ends at midnight. I drop my daughter to school, return home and drop my wife, a teacher. I prepare lunch and pick up my daughter from school. I spend some time with her and drop her to a day boarding school before coming to office," explains Saumu Basu, Kolkata-based media professional, who perfectly essays the role of a new 'man'.

Exhibiting a similar opinion on the changing role of a father, 40-year-old Saugata Ghosh says, "My wife is out on a business tour to Kolkata and I am taking care of my 13-year-old son, who is taking his class exams this week."

From just being the breadwinner of the family, fathers today are all set to walk that extra mile to nurture their children. Times when mothers alone shouldered the responsibility of taking care of the family are now passe. "We are working parents. Inspite of my husband's hectic schedule, he makes sure he spends quality time with the children. During my childhood days, I didn't see my father getting involved in household chores," says Nilanjana Singh, who works as a operations manager in a reputed bank in Mumbai.

However, the entire concept of multi-tasking by a father is confined to a certain segment of society, though there has been an increased rate of interest in co-parenting in general. "The parental role of a father is at its nascent stage, largely confined to a small segment of the elite class. With rising number of women entering the work force, increasing education and social awareness have helped to bring about a change in the image of the father figure," says Tiplut Nongbri, sociologist, JNU.

toireporter@timesgroup.com