You waited for nine months. You saw your wife's stomach grow month after month and could only imagine what she must be going through physically. You were by her side as much as you could.

Now the wait is over. You are a father of a new born baby and you are full of pride these days. You feel you have achieved a feat in life and you deserve a very big treat.

You have already distributed sweets in the neighborhood and to your colleagues in the office. These days you hold your head high when you walk and your heart beats in a happy bounce. You look very happy. Well, you deserve to be, you are a father now.

But you cringe when you have to hold 'oh so fragile' baby in your arms. You do not have an exact idea about what is expected from you. Being a father belonging to the internet and woman-lib era but brought up in a traditional environment, you are confused about your role as a father and expectedly so.

Nandini, a new mother was pleasantly surprised when she took her role as a 'mother' too seriously and her husband snapped at her for not letting him hold the child. "You may be her mother but that doesn't mean I can't take my daughter in my arms. She is my daughter too and I can feed her from the bottle as well as you do…," he barked. She didn't know that her husband Sagar would want to play an active role at being a parent and may feel deprived if she snatched the child back from him every time he picked her up. Sagar is truly a new-age father and knows and enjoys being in that role.

Sharp gender roles of a mother as the care-taker and a housekeeper and that of a man as a breadwinner of the family seem too antiquated to be taken seriously today. Severe divisions between man-woman roles within the house and outside, as we knew it traditionally, have totally blurred.

In an age when both man and woman have to work to meet various EMIs on home loans and what-not loans, it a hugely unjust if the man takes a backseat in his role as a father. And that role is not limited to earning but taking care of day-to-day work surrounding the little toddler and even thereafter.

It is important also that father takes an active interest in child care otherwise there is a possibility of the relationship between husband and wife straining. Also it is important to develop intimacy with the child at this early stage so that as a father you can actively contribute towards your child's development later. Especially so because joint families are now disappearing and nuclear families have become the new credo. Therefore it may be grueling for a woman to take the responsibility of raising a child alone.

Besides, the new born has come into this world, because you both had dreamt of him/her together. Love being a father and except breast-feeding you can do everything from nappy changing to making the child go to sleep.

A child is a bond between a man and a woman, and you can strengthen this bond by giving an equal hand to the woman in your life in taking care of the child.