THE INTERNATIONAL - International Indian

[ LIFESTYLE ]
in a frenzy trying to pack off husband and
kids, the maid strides into the house. This
is maid no 1 who is breezy and extremely
focused on finishing the work in the least
amount of time and effort. She is meant
exclusively for getting the clothes sorted,
doing the breakfast dishes, sweeping and
mopping. All done within minutes, as she
has a string of other homes to do, after
sipping her hot tea!
As she makes her exit, maid no 2 makes
her entrance. Now she is only for the top
work. Dusting, chopping vegetables, folding
the clothes, putting away the vessels and
generally hanging around to execute any
odd jobs! Sometimes you wonder why
you’ve hired her and sometimes you thank
God for her looming presence.
At around 8:00 am the watchman is
again at the door demanding the keys of
your vehicle, which stands coated with a
layer of dust, so that it can be washed and
wiped squeaky clean. Come 10:00 am and
the dhobhi is tapping his foot with one arm
propped on the wall for support, looking
around the living room and making small
talk with the maid. He counts aloud as he
drops your crumpled, wrinkled clothes in
a pile, bundles them up and hoists it over
his shoulders yelling out the number and
he trudges out.
Its 12 noon and the sabziwallah or
Dad Arun multitasking
Debbie sometimes babysits for others too
machiwalli cries out “greens, onions, potatoes,
tomatoes…” or “fresh pomfret, prawns and
mackerels”. Usually he rings your doorbell and
tries to entice you with “fresh stock” or “the
early catch”. After a few minutes of haggling
you walk away with your vegetables and fish
and he walks away with his few rupees.
You would think no more visitors after this
but invariably there is always some minor
repair that needs to get done ever so often. So
from 1 pm until 5 pm one can have anyone
from the plumber to electrician to computer
serviceman to TV/Music system serviceman
knocking at your door. So you see, fortunately
or unfortunately your aides stream in and out
of your household all day long.
Fair enough, but what is it like for us in the West?
Quite the contrast I would think. In
the West, the concept of servants has
largely disappeared, if only because of
economics. Very few can afford to hire
domestic help. Even the occasional services
of a baby sitter strain finances. However,
labor saving devices in the home and a large
selection of convenience foods in the stores
have reduced the domestic workload in the
West considerably.
Tulika Dugar, 30, who now lives in Seattle
in the United States, gets nostalgic and shares,
“My family in India was not rich and yet we
could easily afford a maid for the dishes and
cleaning twice a day. We could afford a cook
too but my mum loved cooking and we loved
her for that. My father never let us drive, so
we had a driver. Our clothes came crisply
ironed from the dhobi and yes our maali -
gardener who worked for the co-op ensured
the plants and garden looked immaculate.”
“Some of the lasting memories are of our
driver, Bhoja who was like a family member.
He would always look out for us especially
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