"Leave aside everything else. You should first search
for a maid. You would not be able to survive even a single day of your life
without them." A dear friend
advised me when I rented an apartment in Pune after my return from Denmark.
I brushed aside her comment mentally since I had stayed in
Denmark for 3 years without any domestic help. I certainly used to feel the
need of a maid there at times but had gotten used to the Danish way of living.
So I was in no hurry to find a maid, albeit I did plan to pamper myself with
the luxury of having one.
"Didi, are you new in the neighbourhood? Are you
looking for a maid? I am ready to do it."
I couldn’t believe my luck. No knocking at neighbours' door,
no request to security at gate, no spreading around the word for a maid. Ha,
there she was at my doorstep, just like that.
But my luck didn’t last long. She was gone within few days
without any prior notice. Apparently she kept asking for money almost daily and
I had refused to meet her frequent demands. Little did I know that it was a
lesson for me.
I felt my energy drained out on the very first day of maid's
absence. I was hardly able to cope up with cooking, dusting, laundry, dishes,
sweeping, mopping AND my 2 year old daughter who needs my undivided attention. You
see, there are these little additional chores in India which take away lots of
your time. While I was in Denmark, I never had to boil milk before using it, I
never had to fill up the water bottles for the refrigerator, I never had to use
filtered water for cooking, I never had to dust furniture daily and so many
other things. We were yet to buy AC and Washing Machine. It meant that I had to
do the laundry as well as tank up the air coolers with water daily. On the top
of that, my sweet hubby comes home for lunch which he never did in Denmark.
Calm down, take it easy. You have done it in Denmark; you can do it here also. I assured myself. Second day. Third day. I somehow survived.
Fourth day and I was physically shattered. I was desperate now. I panicked. I
left messages and humble requests with my neighbours and security that I was in
need of a maid. I practically ran after every maid I came across in the
building. Somehow all of them were busy
and had no time to take up my work. Their demand was huge but supply was short.
Finally my neighbour's maid agreed to meet me and fixed up
an appointment at 3 pm, the time when she was free from her day's work. I waited for her in anticipation, twitching
my fingers and pacing the floor restlessly. Will she or will she not?
And she came. I prepared myself for a tete-a-tete. But it
turned out to be my interview. She interviewed about me, family, my earlier
whereabouts and everything that did not matter. She listed down her conditions
before she could accept me as her employer.
1.
She would take 2 leaves a month.
2.
She would take a long holiday of about 4 to 5
days in a year.
3.
She might be late to work at times in case she
needs to go to teacher parents meeting at her children’s school.
4.
She would try her best to arrive on time but she
may be 10 to 30 minutes late in case lift is busy or she is chatting with her
friends.
5.
She would not prefer me to interfere with her
work or follow her around in the house.
6.
She would need one month’s salary or equivalent bonus
during Diwali.
7.
She would charge extra payment if I have guests
at home for a longer duration.
8.
She would need a cup of tea while she is
working.
9.
She would give me a missed call if she has
something to inform me and I have to call her back immediately.
And there were some unspoken conditions too which we both
knew and understood to be taken for granted.
1.
Meals once in a while
2.
Advance payments
3.
Tips from the guests
4.
Saree on special occasions or festivals
And so on….
Should it not have been the other way around? I mean, it is
me who is hiring her. It is me who is going to pay her. She asked me to take a decision by evening
because she had offers from other households also. She had paid me visit just
out of courtesy and respect to my neighbour where she worked.
No options left, I accepted her terms and conditions. Phew,
she could have even made me sign an employment agreement and I would have
gladly signed it at that point of time.
I was amazed at the number of English words she had used
during our conversation. She was dressed up elegantly from tip to toe and there
was not even a single outline of tiredness on her face. She looked as fresh as morning
dew. How on the earth does she manage it? Anyways she promised to report to
work from the next day onwards.
My happiness knew no limits when she appeared on my door the
next morning, with a purse dangling in one hand and a Nokia touch screen mobile
on another. As if some Goddess herself had decided to bless me in person.
Well, it has been few days since she is working now and I
must admit she is not so bad at her job. Though it is a different story that she
hardly takes half an hour to finish her work and rushes off to another house in
a jiffy. She is a chatter box and there is no pause button on her tongue.
"This Nokia phone was given to me by a bachelor for whom I cooked.
He liked my cooking. He also sold his computer to me at a cheap price for my
kid." (Read: The same logic applies to you also. I expect gifts
every now and then)
"Did you use the vessel scrub by any chance? It has some leftover
food over it. I like my scrubs neat and spotless." (Read: Keep a separate
scrub for me or clean the common one after every use)
"This pressure cooker is not well maintained. You should put lemon
water in it and leave it overnight". (Read: If you do not maintain
your vessels, it adds to my work. I have to put extra efforts to clean it)
"One of my madams had her in laws staying over a month. I agreed
to work only because they were a couple. She did not pay me double salary that
month. I left their work." (Read: You better remember this when
you have such guests)
My husband has challenged me that if this maid lasts over a
year, then he would take me out for a romantic vacation. The wait and watch
game has started. Let us see who wins.
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