Three Women
When I am dying to write is the time I am not near my computer or there are other pressing concerns like the children in midst of a fight, a guest coming and meal to be prepared or maids to be instructed. Coming to maids , I have three who work part time for me.
Nirmala and Nikita happen to have been full timer earlier at some posh houses in Napean Sea road. They have worked for large rich families. Both speak Gujrati better than me. Both are barely twenty.
Nikita even knows English. I am amazed when she talks to the children in the school language. She talks of Dora and Tom and Jerry and Barbie. She tells me to put a chart in the house with names of both children and dates. When they do something bad, I am supposed to put a black star and if they do something good then the star is the colur of their choice.. pink, yellow , red, blue.She plays phone phone with them where the first the maid is supposed to pick up the phone and then pass it to the kid. What a game !
Once the elder child was telling her that she went for a wedding to Le Meridien.Nikita said she has stayed at Hyatt, Meridien for weekends. I almost choked. It seems her employers used to go for weekends from south Mumbai to the five star hotels in north Mumbai. Her job was to accompany kids by poolside, malls and be with them while the parents went for films in mulitiplexes and discos.She has flown to quite a few holiday destinations and stayed at five star resorts. Now her parents want her to get married so after six years of working there, she has moved to the slums.So a life of common toilets, line for water where her number comes in the afternoon to fill the pots, and part time jobs in 2 houses. But her enthusiasm is amazing. SHe is happy bright and so vivacious. She has adjusted so beautifully to this new quarters. Its not that she does not have a choice to go back to that richie rich job but she wants to get married. She knows that this will happen only if she lives with her parents. All her friends from the village and cousins in Mumbai younger than her are married and have children.
Nirmala also worked in Teen batti and now has got married moved to the slums in Mahim. She married because mom and younger brother in village, father no more. She is supporting them. Arranged marriage at 20, lives with elder bro in law and sis in law. They stress her out completely. SHe is supposed to work outside, pay for her rent in this house plus cook and clean and fill water. SHe said she doesn t know what she has got into with this marriage.Her hubby works for a diamond company. SHe is now looking for renting their own shanty.
Ujjwala has two children.Her Hubby was working in a garment shop and suddenly he has joined some govt job in the village. She lives with her sister in law and has kept her children in the village with in laws. She is from a poor family, her father is an alcholic. She has been working for years and has got all her sisters married. Her hubby married her because the woman he was to marry ditched him at the last moment. This one was poor and they paid her parents for this marriage. She wants to work here for a few months so she can earn to build a house in the village and pay off the loan sharks in Mumbai. All of them invest in fixed deposits with these loan sharks as they cant open bank accounts without proper documents. Why cant they open bank accounts in Mumbai? Why dont we have some banks for them ? Why cant we stop these criminals in the slums who provide them water electicity and money at exhorbitant rates. They dont have a gas or a pressure cooker in their house. They do have a tv and a mixer.
Three women working hard for their goals and supporting me.Their grit and determination is awesome. They face life so powerfully.The way they choose, whatever life throws at them, is wonderful.
God bless them.
Nirmala and Nikita happen to have been full timer earlier at some posh houses in Napean Sea road. They have worked for large rich families. Both speak Gujrati better than me. Both are barely twenty.
Nikita even knows English. I am amazed when she talks to the children in the school language. She talks of Dora and Tom and Jerry and Barbie. She tells me to put a chart in the house with names of both children and dates. When they do something bad, I am supposed to put a black star and if they do something good then the star is the colur of their choice.. pink, yellow , red, blue.She plays phone phone with them where the first the maid is supposed to pick up the phone and then pass it to the kid. What a game !
Once the elder child was telling her that she went for a wedding to Le Meridien.Nikita said she has stayed at Hyatt, Meridien for weekends. I almost choked. It seems her employers used to go for weekends from south Mumbai to the five star hotels in north Mumbai. Her job was to accompany kids by poolside, malls and be with them while the parents went for films in mulitiplexes and discos.She has flown to quite a few holiday destinations and stayed at five star resorts. Now her parents want her to get married so after six years of working there, she has moved to the slums.So a life of common toilets, line for water where her number comes in the afternoon to fill the pots, and part time jobs in 2 houses. But her enthusiasm is amazing. SHe is happy bright and so vivacious. She has adjusted so beautifully to this new quarters. Its not that she does not have a choice to go back to that richie rich job but she wants to get married. She knows that this will happen only if she lives with her parents. All her friends from the village and cousins in Mumbai younger than her are married and have children.
Nirmala also worked in Teen batti and now has got married moved to the slums in Mahim. She married because mom and younger brother in village, father no more. She is supporting them. Arranged marriage at 20, lives with elder bro in law and sis in law. They stress her out completely. SHe is supposed to work outside, pay for her rent in this house plus cook and clean and fill water. SHe said she doesn t know what she has got into with this marriage.Her hubby works for a diamond company. SHe is now looking for renting their own shanty.
Ujjwala has two children.Her Hubby was working in a garment shop and suddenly he has joined some govt job in the village. She lives with her sister in law and has kept her children in the village with in laws. She is from a poor family, her father is an alcholic. She has been working for years and has got all her sisters married. Her hubby married her because the woman he was to marry ditched him at the last moment. This one was poor and they paid her parents for this marriage. She wants to work here for a few months so she can earn to build a house in the village and pay off the loan sharks in Mumbai. All of them invest in fixed deposits with these loan sharks as they cant open bank accounts without proper documents. Why cant they open bank accounts in Mumbai? Why dont we have some banks for them ? Why cant we stop these criminals in the slums who provide them water electicity and money at exhorbitant rates. They dont have a gas or a pressure cooker in their house. They do have a tv and a mixer.
Three women working hard for their goals and supporting me.Their grit and determination is awesome. They face life so powerfully.The way they choose, whatever life throws at them, is wonderful.
God bless them.
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