వండే అమ్మ కన్నా, వడ్డించే అమ్మ మేలు

vande amma kanna, vaddinche amma melu

Translation

The woman who serves food is better than the woman who cooks it.

Meaning

This proverb highlights that execution, presentation, or final delivery is often more recognized or appreciated than the hard work behind the scenes. In a practical sense, it means that even if someone does all the labor (cooking), the person who manages the final distribution or interaction (serving) often gets the credit or gratitude. It is used to describe situations where the person at the final stage of a process holds more influence.

Related Phrases

The woman who gets startled is often sulky, and the woman with a swelling has more pain.

This proverb describes human nature and physical reality. It implies that a person with a guilty conscience or a sensitive nature is easily offended or reactive (sulky), just as a person with a physical ailment (like a boil or swelling) naturally feels more pain. It is often used to describe someone who reacts defensively or takes offense easily because they know they are in the wrong or are overly sensitive.

A woman used to lovers and a woman used to eating cream cannot remain quiet.

This proverb is used to describe how once a person develops a taste for luxuries or a habit of indulging in forbidden/secret pleasures, they find it impossible to give them up. It highlights the persistent nature of deep-seated habits or addictions.

The lady who has daughters is given a chair, but the lady who has sons has to lean against the wall.

This traditional proverb highlights the cultural observation that daughters often provide better care, comfort, and emotional support to their parents in old age compared to sons. While sons were traditionally preferred for lineage, the saying suggests that daughters ensure their mother sits comfortably (chairs), whereas sons might leave her with no place but the outside of the house (eaves).

The woman who sleeps has only one curry, while the woman who begs has six curries.

This proverb highlights that laziness leads to limited options and poverty, whereas those who are active, even in humble tasks, often find more variety and abundance. It is used to mock someone who is too lazy to work for their own livelihood and contrasts them with those who are resourceful or hardworking.

The back of the woman who heard burned, the stomach of the woman who gave birth burned.

This proverb contrasts the depth of empathy with biological maternal pain. It means that while a casual observer or neighbor (the one who heard) might feel a superficial or outward sympathy (back burning), only a mother (the one who gave birth) feels the true, deep, internal agony (stomach burning) when a child is in trouble. It is used to describe how a mother's suffering for her children is incomparable to anyone else's.

The woman who has gives to the woman who has; the woman who has not also gives to the woman who has.

This proverb describes a social irony where resources or gifts tend to flow towards those who are already wealthy or powerful, rather than to those in need. It highlights that everyone seeks to please the rich, while the poor are often ignored or even forced to give up what little they have to those above them.

If a woman doesn't know how to cook, she should know how to collect/gather.

This proverb suggests that if someone lacks a primary skill (like cooking in a traditional household context), they should at least possess a secondary survival skill or resourcefulness (like gathering food or managing wealth) to compensate. It is used to mock someone who is incompetent in basic duties but also fails to be useful in any other way.

The words of the one who gave a creeper are sweet; the words of the one who gave a leaf-stalk are savory; but the words of the one who has blooming leaves are unbearable to hear.

This proverb highlights human psychology and bias based on self-interest. It refers to a person who praises those who have given them something (even something small like a vegetable creeper or a palm leaf) while being critical or intolerant of those who have plenty but have not shared anything with them yet. It is used to describe how people's perceptions of others are often colored by the benefits they receive.

A squint eye is better than a blind eye.

This proverb is used to convey that having something imperfect or partial is better than having nothing at all. It is similar to the English expression 'Half a loaf is better than no bread' or 'Something is better than nothing.'

Of two evils choose the least.

Chairs and stools for the mother of daughters; wall corners for the mother of sons.

This traditional proverb highlights the observation that daughters often take better care of their aging parents with comfort and respect (represented by chairs), whereas sons may neglect them or leave them with no proper place to stay (represented by the eaves of a wall or corners of a house).