Thursday, 18 December 2008

Bai Bye!!!

J arrived and declared she spied S2 on her way to work and went on about how different and smart he looked. S2 arrived in office in t-shirt and jeans amid much fanfare (as he is essentially a jeans and shirt person so it is a welcome change!!!)...It turns out it is woman who brought about a se(a)e change in him…his maid servant or bai as they are commonly called in Mumbai has not turned up for work…so the dirty laundry has piled sky high in his apartment and he is having to dress in business casuals for work…

He and his roomies are having a tough time with their maid servant...the last one disappeared without notice and this new one joined on the condition that she will be on vacation in December!!! This reminds me of other bai's and their tantrums…

My ex-colleague was interviewing prospective maid servants to do the laundry at her place, one prospective candidate said she would join provided they paid her Rs.200 a month and that too only if they had a washing machine…my friend rejected her with the following comment, “Now let me get this right, you want me to pay you Rs.200 to switch on and switch off the washing machine!!!”.

My aunt once had a maid who was kleptomaniac, she stole stuff and hid them in her petticoat (a petticoat is a long skirt that is worn under the saree)… this resourceful bai had sewn extra cloth on this petticoat to make a kind of pouch and keep the stolen stuff there!!!...Once she had the audacity to steal large steel vessels, they jangled like crazy in the hiding place and gave her secret away!!!...She was sacked pronto!!!

Not all bai's are mad, crazy or thieves, Gulab Akka who lived with us while I was growing up is a person who redeemed all the aforementioned bai's, she is a gem and one of the rare breed of genuine people. All my childhood memories are linked with her….We were really sorry to see her go, but working as a house maid was hampering her prospects in the marriage market and so she had to leave us to work in an Office setup. She still calls often and meets up at festivals like Raksha Bandhan (she ties a rakhi to my younger brother) Diwali etc!!!

13 comments:

  1. Hey Sen.. cool one this..
    200 bucks for switching on/off!!!
    these guys sure rule our urban life

    one incident i remember when my nieces were quite little..this bai would get calls on her cellphone..n she trained the elder one to do all her chores and also to take care of the little one!!kids called her 'aunty' n never said anything to anybody:)
    one fine day when the kids got locked in, while she was talking outside... whole society had come for breaking open the door!!

    she was told to leave..2500 bucks for cooking, cleaning n taking care of the kids when necessary:)that was her 'last talk' probably....

    btw, how's Gulab akka?

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  2. lol...
    u r loud and clear in all of ur posts...stopping at nothing..

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  3. @ Vinnie...heheeh...true...they sure do...Gulab Akka is fine

    @ Karmanna...not sure if that is a sarcastic jibe or a compliment...prefer to think of it as a compliment :))

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  4. certainly a compliment, senora :)

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  5. Sen, the lady who stays with my sis [who was paid a good sum of 4500 to take care of my niece] just went away last week without telling anyone. And guess how she opened the door: with a screw driver! no theft intended cos nothing missing. This is the 6th lady in 2008 and the first one to leave in this weird manner! Usually people want a hike just after a month or so!

    Seems like getting ourself a job is much easier!

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  6. This post reminds me of a maid who was with us..rather she brought up me,bros& cousin..She was quite sincere ..when we grew..her greediness also grew ..beyond limits!!

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  7. @ Sen

    I knew few stories where female servants had sexually harassed male kids which caused them to undergo severe psychological problems...its very essential to realise that the child is not always in the safe hands...

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  8. @ sawan...true it is easier to get ourselves a job...

    @ Scrawler...greed is a human failing that has afflicted people for centuries...

    @ Lancelot...as Sherlock Holmes said "life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent"...there are cases of child abuse that are far more grusome than you and I can imagine...

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  9. I ve spoken to many victims - i am even going to do a short film on child abuse - so I actually knew few gore stories...

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  10. @ Lancelot...god be with you...the world needs more people who think like you...

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  11. @ Sen


    thank u...but i am just a drop in an ocean there are better people than me in this world...who does things which i can never think of doing...I wish soon i can be one among them...else how u think india and rest of the world is surviving from these terrorists, politicians, greedy men...?

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  12. @ Lancelot...amen..may we see the day soon :)

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