Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Maid , Pride of India


 

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.

 A Teacher

          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.

Thanks to free public domain images.

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