Maid, Pride of India
“The
maid’s hand is a magic wand”
Making of “Maid in India”
Once upon a time, to be “Maid in
India” was hereditary. It was a lifelong assignment. Things changed. Poverty
became the factor due to circumstances. A sudden catastrophe in the family. The
death of lone bread winner or loss of all that they had, compelled the lady to
step in. She had a family to look after along with children’s well-being. The
era of “Maid in India” brand even from well to do classes ushered in. The maid
was the sole bread winner.
Handy and Candy
Handy
Maid
in India, generally an inseparable part of the family, is the world’s choicest
all-rounder. She can adopt to any role in a jiffy. Ask anything and she will
oblige, studded with multi mindset. Dump of dust, heap of clothes, cluster of
utensils, little hurls of abuses here and there, our maid smiles and exhibits
dexterity. “Floods or thunders, she dares forever.”
Our world will be upside down when the mobile shatters the
tranquility of the morning. “It is our Maid”, my wife yells, “She is not coming
today”. Shivers and ripples rattle our spine. While the sun shines outside,
it’s cloudy inside. I actually planned bringing a few cleansing machines and
nick name them “Junior Maids”. But my wife insists, it cannot narrate her
neighbor’s suspense thrillers. “It has no emotions”, she says. Maid’s narration
to her is like a feast. How can she miss it/her? Her pitch of narration
increases with the aroma of coffee my wife so affectionately offers.
Candy
She a
candy for me. A cup of joy forever. Whenever I am relaxing on my arm
chair, immersed in the morning newspaper, the maid comes with a broom, tinkers
my foot, signaling me to lift my dhoti (a kind of white cloth worn around
the waist up to the toes to protect my decency) in a modest way exhibiting
her smile within her lips. A smile, between us a privy, but my wife’s envy. A
sudden thunder appears, “Let her sweep, get up and go out. You can read the
daily later.” Who else my bitter half creating the waves.
My wife is fully aware that maid is everything for me
except being her substitute. Once, when she was away on a holiday to her native
place, a tricky incident occurred. Our maid was in need of the washing
material. Not happy with the drops I put, she rang my wife and told in her
broken English, “Madam, I ask Sir for the long bar but he is putting a few
drops every day”. I am grateful to my maid, my wife cut short her visit,
returned the very next day. A matter of sheer misconception. Now she thinks
twice before venturing out and our maid glances at me with a smile clutched in
her lips.
Many who are localized for life time
never realize the other facet of the maid. They have lost an opportunity to
broaden their horizon. How lucky are those who get delocalized often in India?
It is here that the role of maid as a teacher comes to lime light. We learn local
languages, mostly through the maid, a teacher, free of cost. The innumerable house
hold techniques which the maid has acquired through experience is passed on to
us.
A Victim
All said and done, it is a pity to
observe a strange perception in the minds of all landlords without an exception
about the “Maid in India”. Any thing missing from ‘garments to ornaments’ in
the house, “Maid” comes to the mind. A maid who has sacrificed all her luxuries
to keep you happy for years to come by is not spared. But our “Maid in India”
remains a heroine, never bothers as she knows that it is the birth right of the
masters to suspect, smiles and continues to work.
The
prevailing pandemic situation, maid is again the immediate victim. We sadly show her show a pink slip. We do not even think of the agony she faces. May be we
feel that we may pass on the virus to her. Remember, we can afford to pay for
our health care unlike the maid who serves you.
Most of the employed women enjoy the
benefit of maternity leave along with salary. How about the Maid? I am only
looking from the other angle and acting as an “Eye opener”.
A hard commodity
Today, with an exception, it is hard
to find those “Maid in India” brands. The landlady has to be at her beck and
call. The maid with an apple iPhone in her hand interviews the landlady.
“How
many persons in the home, how big is the home, are you putting the bedspreads
and the pull overs for washing, does both husband and wife work in the IT Company,
will there be holidays as per the government calendars?”
The
list extends depending upon the locality.
Finally,
when they quote their price tag, you will be a like tiger in the trap. When you
succumb to their wiliness, they hit their last nail by pronouncing the
availability of their time slots, a hard nut to crack.
Maid for each other
Houses which do not hire “Maid in
India” do have maids. The husbands and wives of today are a special brand whom
I label “Maid for each other”, a case of gender equality. Aren’t we?
Transformation
Gone are the days when they worked for hours, spent their lives in the house of the landlord. They were happy if they could get two square meals for their hungry children, two sets of cloth each lasting six months and just two beetle leaves with nuts for themselves to chew. They were always waiting for the festive season so that her children could be served sweet dishes provided by the landlady. Dry fruits and cashew nuts were not in their dictionary.
Today, maid comes on a two wheeler, neatly dressed up,
wearing a time clock and a mobile. Insists on time schedules. Keeps the masters
on their toes. Proud and happy that her children are studying in the best ever
schools of the metropolitan. A maid who cannot be beaten by her drunken
husband. Her religion has no tags and barriers. Unity in diversity.
A “Maid in India” whose children may one day be
an IAS officer, a CEO or even the President of India who knows. It is a mutual
trust. Treat our “Maid in India” with care as if she belongs to the family. Acknowledge
her service and give her the pride of place. Never underestimate and undermine our
“Made in India”-The Pride of India.
