subject: The Maids of Honour!! [print this page] The Maids of Honour!! The Maids of Honour!!
I have been observing things recently, actually since I moved to Mumbai and started living a Housewife life... I got involved in those chores n routines which I saw my mother and other women in my family doing it. Well, must confess, its not easy as it looks and most importantly, u have to do it all your life, no escape!!!! Just like taking bath!!!
So, I too had to talk to maids, settle a wage, fill groceries frequently etc. etc. Of course things don't go same all the time as you expect, and when they don't; you come to know about facts which led to the malfunction!!!! Well "Malfunction" is a big word, but that's what happens if something goes wrong.
In my case I am talking about a simple common problem, "Maid coming late". As this was happening frequently I started asking her for the reason. The reason she gave me every time left me gaping at her in the beginning, but now I just take a deep breath and carry on with my work.
Her reasons are as follows: 1) I was cutting vegetables for flat no. 123
2) Flat 624 asked me to hang her clothes in the balcony
3) I was making parathas, peeling carrots, making Gujiya, Scrapping coconut, making dinner (at 9 a.m.) at so on and so forth at different flat nos.....
Earlier I thought these are stupid things which any woman would do and not ask a maid to do it. But I came to know that as every task has fixed rates so has cutting vegetables, hanging clothes etc. A maid has to be paid Rs. 200 a month for veggie cutting and hanging clothes individually. That too clothes from an automatic washing machine to the balcony which is 6 steps away!!!! Women shell out Rs.50 easily for one time peeling carrots. It was shocking that for a festival; women ask maids to make Gujiyas!!!! That's what a woman of the house has to do!!! But look at the brighter side, they have all the heart to celebrate the festival and they do their level best by sitting in front of TV and flipping channels!!! They of course are not shrugging their responsibilities!! (Are they???)
Then I started paying attention to the women in my building, yes its a posh one (you know!!), high society women reside here (tell me about it!!). When I see them every evening in the park with their kids; I notice every kid has a same or a little older girl taking care of him/her. And these fat, 3-tyre, sports wear wearing, women sitting in one corner discussing that how busy they are and how their kids are a pain!!! And a few would be taking fast rounds around the building (to loose weight obviously!!!).
Most of them have a permanent 11-15 yr old girls at their home, 90% of them are women of Bihar and U.P. In fact all Bihar women have permanent maids. The construction of our building is such that all kitchen windows are facing towards each other. I see small girls standing and getting off the stools when they cook in front of gas stove. My only company while making dinner is small girls, I don't see more than 4 women working in the kitchen, its always maids n little girls. I thought the women must be working or must have small children, but NO!!!! They are housewives and a few have children much older than their maids!!!! Then what do these women do all day!!!!!
I frequently get calls on intercom asking for my maid, I get angry sometimes, I feel like shouting at them, but I don't.
There is one woman here from Lucknow, she waits desperately for my maid to make everything from tea to poha to lunch to dinner and what not. As told by my maid, she starves until my maid comes that's why she keeps calling me thrice every morning. My maid is completely irritated by her. Recently the Lucknow woman's in-laws came, definitely my maid was on parade. I happened to meet her in-laws on the building gate. The woman introduced me to her Saas and Sasur saying that I am newly married and from Lucknow. They looked very calm (of course with such lazy daughter-in-law, they had to!!!), they asked me,- "it must be difficult in beginning to manage household work, so you must be eating out? In few months of marriage that's common". I blankly said "NO". I told them, I don't eat hotel food, I cook my own food everyday and easily do all household work. The poor Saas Sasur had a weird helpless and no-hope look on their faces, they looked at each other and just said "Achha hai" Obviously I knew what I was doing there bragging about myself!!!
There is another woman from Patna, her husband stays on ship for 7-8 months, has a 3 yr old girl and as usual she has a small girl maid from Bihar. She says she doesn't know cooking at all. I never see her in kitchen either. I thought a woman can learn cooking when her husband is away, make mistakes, correct them, try new dishes. But she doesn't. I think if she cooks, she will have to cook for the small maid girl also; and of course How can SHE; cook FOR the MAID!!!!! (Hello!!!! She is princess Mia from Genovia!!! after getting married)
Being from UP, I always assumed that most North Indian women don't work at offices and stay as housewives. Ive always seen the women in my house being homemakers. I thought girls of today would be lazy, but on the contrary I see them more active. They work, have fun, maintain homes are more dedicated to their in-laws, they understand them more. And all these middle aged women live as if they are Aishwarya Rai's, the heat of the gas flame might burn their skin, picking up things might roughen their hands... (but believe me, with that big ass and 3-tyres, they are not even close to beautiful).
Most of this is by UP Bihar women (I am Shocked!!), they age from 30-45 yrs, when they wear clothes, it has to be sleeveless (Puh-LEASE they are glamorous!!!), and their arm pits hanging out of their sleeves, stomach have a bigger radius that chest, they look like "Tamboos" but yes..... they do look pink and plump.... and their motive of being "fatally glamorous" is accomplished... they do look "Fatal"!!!
Everyone here is trying to out do the other (Who is more Princess!!!!), I am allergic to such n such cosmetic, I don't like this particular clothing brand, their stitches are loose and open quickly (Madam ji, its not loose, its tearing!!!!), This shoe brand, bites my feet and gives me blisters (FYI, your shoe is about to BURRRRSSST and its screeeeeeeeaming!!!)
When a designer Saree is designed, imagine the psyche of the saree, she must be decorating her dreams, "I would be draped on beautiful hour class type curves, my embroidery will appear on the waist and plates" But, to her HORROR, it is wrapped by an opposite curved woman like a "Lota" and its designated embroidery can be at any part, all its dreams are washed away and its HOWLING while its on the woman!!!!!
I am not being cynical about fat people, I am against those people who just do two exercises all day 1) Flipping Channels and 2) Moving aside the eating plate after they are finished. Then I hear such women talking about packages they have paid in gyms and spas to loose weight (Actually asking whose is more expensive!!).
I remember blaming my mother for not giving me food one day when I came back from school, just because she was tired. ( I am sorry Mom!!) What will their children do? Im sure the next generations are heading towards humans with disappearing bones (like in Wall-e).
No wonder, why maids in big cities have such big attitudes, they narrate their routine as if they are CEOs of a company, refuse bluntly on face of women if they don't want to work, they have silly tantrums, and its more shocking to see that women who don't take a twisted word from anyone have sugar coated statements for Maids. They just carry no attitude or self respect in front of maids, (Ive seen a few begging!!).
Now I know, why and where the poor families in Bihar and UP sell off their small children!!!!!
Days are passing by, I am now used to it. Seeing women just pointing finger at the vegetable and telling Sabji wala, 1 kilo ye 2 kilo wo.... and a small girl or maid walking behind them carrying bags with 1 cabbage and half kilo onion!!!
And Maids walking like a heroine, full of HONOUR!!!!!
