Self help is the best help

Self help is the best help

Anyone who lives in India gets used to one service very very quickly…having help at hand..in other words the handy maidservant.

 Having another person doing minor domestic chores for you is something one can adapt to quite fast. After all that’s how the memsahibs in colonial India quickly accustomed themselves to living in India. Where else would an ordinary mortal not of the nobility have one person to polish his shoes, another to cook his food and a third to drive him about town?

For those living in the western part of the globe this concept is hard to understand but for those of us living in our part of the world it is something we take for granted. There are some families who have had generations of family retainers waiting on them. Most middle class people usually have a part time “bai” (Literal translation=woman) who comes in does the dishes, sweeps and mops the floors, washes the clothes and breezes out to repeat the same task in at least five more houses before going to her own small home.

Times are changing and like everyone else these women also want to better their lives. They work hard to educate their children so that they can move on to better things. An education always guarantees a better job and everyone wants that for their own children.

So now there are bais with different specialties…those who only cook, those who only do dishes and those who don’t do dishes! And lo behold if you don’t have a washing machine in your house you’ll be hard put to find someone to work for you. “memsahib I’ll only hang out the washing on the line, if you don’t have a washing machine get one” said a bai to a lady who just moved into our neighbourhood! A full day servant is impossible to find, “who wants to be tied down?” said one young girl, “I earn much more by doing five part time jobs.”

Salaries are now being given not only according to the locality where you live but also the square area of your apartment. If you have a 1500 sq ft apartment be ready to shell out that much more after all housework is hard work!

The number of days they took leave was quite limited in the olden days. Now a weekly off is a must, so is privilege leave for a festival, family function, death in the family and of course there is the sick leave which can be endless. If you grumble you can be sure that you’ll be searching for a new servant so you have to keep quiet and bear it.

Of course I’m writing this hub because I’ve just finished cleaning the house from top to bottom after the girl who works for me was a no show for the fourth day today. I have decided that if everyone in the family chips in it’s not too bad. I’ve put ear plugs on because I don’t want to hear the protests of the children! Why depend on someone else …after all self help is the best help! J