THE INTERNATIONAL - International Indian

[ LIFESTYLE ]
Thoda Help,
Thoda Magic
“Choosing not to hire help in India may raise a few eyebrows since it is so connected to
social standing, and everyone else does it. While some people enjoy the convenience and
freedom of having help around the house, others cannot bear the loss of privacy and the
difficulty of employer/employee relationships.”
[ By SarIna MEnEzES ]
Indians in the West are often looked
upon with envy or a condescending
attitude by folks back home but life in
the West is not always as easy as it seems.
Most of us follow the routine of wake up in
the morning, make breakfast and dinner
beforehand, pack the kids off to school,
work, return home exhausted, sort the kids,
dinner, dishes, laundry and then crash in
for the night with no hope of full time or
part time servants to help out. What we
NRIs so fondly miss is the fantastic, well
oiled domestic support system back home
that keeps even families in a buzzing city
like Mumbai sustained.
This was my second visit to Mumbai
after moving to London five years ago.
I could not contain my excitement
and was looking forward to meeting my
lovely nanny who has been with our
family since I was born.
The next morning as I watched the
city from the 9th floor of our apartment
in Powai, business in Mumbai seemed as
usual. Besides the economic boom that is
gripping the country, little has changed
in the infrastructure and support system
in Mumbai. Within minutes there was a
knock on the door combined with a single
ding dong to break that silence.
Nanny Matty with children
It’s probably the watchman or doodhwallah to
drop off some sticky, drippy packets of milk, I
thought. Unlike England where I now live, in
India you simply cannot have a day without
having your doorbell ringing periodically
with the familiar stream of domestic help to
get through your everyday chores.
At around 6:30 am while the
newspaperwallah swiftly flings ‘The Times
of India’ at your doorstep and scampers
away to other households, the watchman’s
wife (please note that the watchman and
his wife are all-rounders) trundles in with
three to four hibiscus flowers in colors of
red, white or yellow freshly plucked from
the compound tree or the neighbor’s for
your morning pooja.
On a typical school day, while mums are
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THE INTERNATIONAL INDIAN