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The relationships we share with our house-helps are usually a potpourri of emotions. Maids know how to open our best most charitable corner of the heart, every passing Diwali or daughter’s school fee day, whichever occurs more often. They also bring out the longest faces our visages can manage, what with those undeclared leaves right after taking 2 month’s salary in advance. I have seen myself going from one end of the emotional spectrum to the other like a pendulum oscillating drunk, for reasons which are every home’s story. She comes (or not comes) for an hour every day and helps me with what she is supposed to, at least with 60 per cent of the job profile that was pre-decided when I kept her. She seems happy, especially since the other residences are Houses of Horrors for her and mine a halka ghar, whatever that means.
Houses of Horrors? She tells me bizarre stories of how some ‘momsters’ have asked her to clean verandas with cold water in peak winters and bare-foot please, the child may catch infection from her slippers. How her colleagues have often been falsely accused of eating burfis by the Madam, gossiping about Sir, having an affair with the driver, and being married to a murderer lodged in a village jail – all untruths and only spread to fire them and even keep another from hiring them. Their character certificates are written and re-written at the drop of a mop, and the stories continue - not just of how they treat us but also of how we women mistreat our own helps.
This post is about my maid, who comes and goes with a big smile on her face, so I am assuming she is happy with me...
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Well written article, Sakshi. Call it a coincidence, my maid was mopping my room while I was reading this article
ReplyDelete- Ashwin
My World... My Words
Yes, we can call that a coincidence. :) Thanks for stopping by, Ashwin!
DeleteChildren do learn things so much better and faster when they unfold around them as examples. Thank you for reading, Ashwini. :)
ReplyDeleteoh talking about maids...I remember them to be resilient and yet tenacious. Always wondered what kind of genes they possess!
ReplyDeleteGreat read, Sakshi and a good take home lesson :)
Yes, resilience is something that all of them have. Maybe it's not genes but circumstances? The stories you hear about their family lives, if true, can really make them tenacious. Thank for reading, Ruchira. :)
DeleteAs the expert writer at http://essaytyper.pro/ I am happy for intelligent, well-educated people who are able to homeschool their children, especially when they are giving their kids a quality education free of religious indoctrination and racial tension. But no, homeschooling is not the answer for the country.
ReplyDeleteOur public schools were once outstanding places for most kids. There has always been resistance on the part of the government (at all levels) to ensure that all children have equal access and equal resources, but we were on the way to high standards - then the power of backroom capitalism began sucking money and resources from public schools and giving them to charter schools and (more problematic) private religious schools.
I could go on for ages about the charter school explosion and its problems, as well as the unconstitutionality of tax money going to religious schools. But the main point is that by taking needs resources from public schools, they are becoming the dumping ground for those who can't afford other options. Teachers in red states are leaving the profession, as they can't afford the lousy pay. They also can't continue to pay for the school supplies their states won't pay for (and the tax deductions they will lose if the horrible tax bill passes). Meanwhile, they are required by law to provide for all students, and provide important teaching for special-needs students - without the funding and resources. Charter and private schools take tax money while cherry-picking the students they want.
Homeschooling, when done well, can provide exceptional students and special-needs students (among others) with outstanding opportunities. Done poorly, it turns out illiterate "graduates" with little more than a brainwashing of religion. But we should be focusing on rebuilding our public schools. ALL of them.