Maid to order !

"Mom, we are lucky this time!" chuckled my son, referring to my maid who has been working for more than a month now in my house. We all laughed in unison at the breakfast table and I secretly thanked God for his mercy. If you live in a city like Bombay, you would understand my ordeal perfectly. Finding good domestic help is a Herculean task and interviewing, hiring and training them is a nightmare! But, that experience has introduced me to a completely different side of life and human nature which is harsh and real and reflects subtle sociological changes.

Vimal, I thought was answer to my prayers. She had towering personality and a sweet smile on her face and always tried to win everybody with extraordinary benevolence. There was nothing she would not do even if that meant staying a little longer. The problem started in a week, when her sweet smile, slowly transformed into a bossy smirk, leaving everyone in the house with mortal fear of setting off her temper! She became very bossy to tackle. So out she went! Ashraf, the other one, had sallow, anorexic frame but was a fast learner. She came on time, did her work thoroughly and after working for three days demanded that she should be allowed to watch television in afternoons. The television time started extending from one hour to a couple of hours daily, disturbing whole schedule of the house and giving me severe headaches with that loud volume! I had no choice but ask her to leave.

Shabana, a village belle instantly earned my pity with her servile demeanor and sob story of her abusive family. This "poor creature" was smarter than she projected. Things started disappearing magically from my home! Obviously, she was fired! Chitra, the next maid, barely eighteen, was a bombshell! She was good looking, well dressed and clean and met my hygiene standards. (I thought, she must be from a good family or must have worked for some nice people to understand my hygiene standards!) She knew a lot about the latest trends in clothes and fashion but hardly much about household work. She was such a charmer that I continued to tolerate her even when she spent more time with her two mobile phones (both models, much advanced than mine, giving me huge inferiority complex) and doing make-up and hair.  I realized it would take saintly patience, training her and getting her remotely interested in work. She was fired.

There are endless experiences like I mentioned above. Some sad, some very poignant, some ridiculously entertaining but they reflect a class of society that we are so dependent on and can't do without. Most of these people hail from small towns and once they come to big cities like Bombay, they are faced with unique challenges of survival and they change at different levels. Many of them have huge aspirations but are reluctant workers. ( I was shocked when once my maid asked me to place order at one of the most expensive bakery for cake on her behalf as she had liked it on my son's birthday, another was willing to blow her two months' salary to get a designer top just like me, for a special date!!!).

I shared these experiences with my neighbor few days back. When I narrated my plight, she gave a victorious smile and said," Honey, the fault is completely yours. You spoil them by paying that much! My maids stick with me even when I pay them less money." Looking at my curious face, she obliged me with her secret, " I watch all the serials with them on television and discuss them, keep them hooked to all the "spicy stories" of my kitty parties (apparently, she goes to three different kitty parties), and am always around them when they work, chatting with them."

That was like having aha moment! I don't go for kitty parties( God ! there are better things to do in life ), watch those hideous melodramas on television ( do I even need to say why I don't ? )  or have luxury of time to chat with maids (of course, I'm interested in knowing about their life and contributing to it in every possible way I can, but constantly engaging myself in mindless chatter with them is beyond me ) as I'm  always pressed for time thanks to multitasking. I have given a serious thought to consider at least one of the suggestions from my neighbor if it helps me retain good domestic help. The conclusion is NO. I can't . Attaining nirvana seems easier. Buddham sharnam gachhami!