Hello ILites We often blame them for those missing spoons....for not cooking properly....for not coming on time...and for taking that "Jhutti"(holiday) without informing us...yes i am talking about our maids in India. Sometimes when she's giving those excuses she sounds like a great story teller...for what is fibbing but a kind of fiction... She goes through life with this unshakeable conviction that she's the smartest person on earth and everybody around her are complete idiots...i actually admire these maids.So she might ask for her salary twice a month and then say "pagar bhadha do na"(raise my salary )....ohh these maids!! I have always felt that in India we have something that West doesnt...an endless supply of cheap labour.From driver to nanny we can hire help for anything we want done.So there are times when we feel sorry for them...we feel guilt and shame..because we are the haves and they are the have-nots. But these women too have a story....a real story...they too have tough lives...where they fight against an alcoholic husband,look after 3 children and still earn a decent living..How do they do it??? That thin framed lady actually runs a house...kudos to her so what if she is not educated..she is a superwoman in her own rights Leaving you with 2 stories from TOI Broom to vroom | Cover Story | Times Crest Winds of change | Cover Story | Times Crest and a very old advertisement from Doordarshan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlI3oRZ3J28 Next time you see her ...treat her with a litttttle more respect :thumbsup
Dear DS Nice article on maids. You are right we shout at them if they don't come for work, without realising what problems she had back home. But after staying aboard for 13 years I have seen how the servants are treated out side and I try to treat them equally as we are in case somedays they don't want to do any work I just let go, but later I realised that these people take advantage of us. Even if there is nothing serious they want to take leave and just do half the work and run away. But there are a few of them who are really genuine, even if they don't work for you still you feel like helping them.
hi my maid raise salary every 6 months and i am doing it. but she is good in her work though....... alas take 2 days leave without no pay cut. full month salary even if she takes more. i pity her children so i used to give her a lot but she was not satisfied..... what is the meaning for satisfaction..... lakshmi
Yes we don't really value them when they come for work daily.When they ask for leave we stare at them and jump like this :rant:rantand do these faces and threaten them that her salary will be cut. The same applies to us when we ask our managers for leave. My Manager in my company used to given me more work the day before leave starts like we keep dropping all the vessels from the loft also for cleaning when the moment she asks for leave. Even they are human and they too have a family and they also need a break. Treat and respect them as humans........
Hmmm Yes they do demand a lot.And we do get a feeling that these maids can never be satisfied. But not all of them are like that.We had a maid in India who used to live with my inlaws.She used to take good care of them.And when i was newly married she was the first friend i made in that house.... But shes no more today....she committed suicide last year because of some issues with her husband. Wish we could save her....wish we could understand her when she was alive.
My mom's maid has been around since 12 years now.... She deals with a drunkard husband who does nothing to earn,physically abuses her (which according to her is common and happens in every house) , rises her 3 sons and a daughter - sends all 4 of them to school, lives in a place where she has to run home to save things from drowning whenever heavy rains pour in and never asked us for "extra money" except for her yearly increment. A real strong woman
dinny ji, Hava badlegi?? hamari gar mein havell's ka poora range hain.. so my maid gets treated as aunty. no name calling. if the kids are having something when she is working, they cannot eat without giving her a piece. earlier, people here at home would not eat when the maid was working. today i serve her food while my family is eating.. that said, when she sweeps,it is as though she is worried the broom will cry of pain. she will crib that she does not have this and that. the latest is i should give her one dosa tava. already she has an induction stove, old tv, mobile, dresses. she also gets gift packs on festival days, apart from her bonus. We do increase her salary and and yeah she whizzes in through the work in 30 minutes..what takes me more than 2 hours..i always wonder if i am slow or is that the perfectionist in me...:bonk:bonk and i have my woes..and i still have the same maid.. Lakshmi has the final laugh.. - Blogs - IndusLadies that said, she is a strong lady. and i have celebrated her here. http://www.indusladies.com/forums/blogs/shanvy/celebrating-the-essence-of-woman-1519/
Dinny Truly verity. Aruna and Lakshmi......YES!!!! Even the creator cant/wont satisfy them. I want to give laurels to my helpers who helped me so far,Sumathy,Malli,Prema.....clean and keen in their work.(only at my place...my training....heeeeeeeee) Inform me before taking leave.Never hike for salary.Never make a fuss for extra work for they know I will WEIGH for it. In reverse,still We are helping them in......if I say all the worthy things become worthless. Sumathy being the last one left for her sickness and from then the past two years,don't have any one,doing all by myself,feel very bad on special occasions as no one to share my foodie!!!!!!! But feel comfortable as I can do things as and whenever I feel.Otherwise had to hurry up. Thanks.
