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The author talks about her house help and strongly feels that we need to be considerate towards people who serve us and treat them with love and respect.
Pooja aunty! Yes, she is our maid.
She comes twice a day, rings the bell (regardless of whether the door is closed or open), takes off her shoes and enters the house addressing my mum, “Didi hum aa gaye!”(regardless of whether my mom is listening to her or not), does her work, finishes the small glass of tea and two biscuits/rusks served to her, and then leave the house addressing my mum again, “Didi hum jaa rahe hain!” ( Again, regardless of whether my mum is listening or not).
One day I interrupted and asked her why she addresses my mum everytime she enters or leaves the house. Her response was, “To ensure that I am entering and exiting your house with your consent- to be away from any questionable accusation because it is very easy to push the needy or a deprived person into the pit of suspicion and blames.”
I tried to assure her saying, “It’s been years that you’ve been working for us and we trust you. You have seen us grow. This cannot happen in our house.” She nodded in agreement and shared one of her many bitter life experiences.
A week ago her small grandson was seriously ill and was admitted to a hospital. But the doctor refused to continue with his treatment because of non-payment of the hospital fee (Rs.1000). She didn’t have enough money and so she sent her young daughter to a family that she had served for 16 years and trusted the most.
The girl knocked and waited for someone to open the door, for 2 hours. She heard people whispering inside, but no one opened the door for her. She felt helpless and left with a heavy heart.
They were forced to leave the hospital with the patient as they were not able to arrange the fee. The next day, when aunty went to the same house asking for an answer, they lied and blamed her daughter saying that she didn’t go there and that she must have gone somewhere else.
Aunty was extremely disappointed with their excuse. It was merely a matter of 1000 Rs. She was also asked to leave her work. Her 16 years of dedication, hard work, honesty, and prestige was all gone for Rs.1000. Thankfully, her grandson was able to recover and she got a helping hand from someone else. But, she learned a lesson for life.
We very often become ignorant towards the people who serve us. They work to make our life easy, but we sometimes take them for granted. We tend to forget that they are human too and can get hurt with our inhuman behavior.
We don’t bother to share their sorrow, their pain, believing they don’t have these emotions. Why? Because we are paying them? But they are paying us back with their hard work and dedication to make our life smooth and easy, despite the challenges that they face every day.
I felt happy when aunty told me, “I feel good when someone calls me aunty, or addresses me with words like “Aap”, or whenever someone bothers to ask about how my family is doing?”
Sometimes it is very easy to make someone feel happy about their life, by just simple human gestures or little acts of kindness (which often do not cost us anything). Sadly, I have noticed, it is very hard to practice it these days.
Show concern, affection, and respect towards the people who are working day and night for you. It will fuel them to do their duty with more energy, love, and dignity.
Image Source: YouTube/Nil Battey Sannata
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Being a writer, Nivedita Louis recognises the struggles of a first-time woman writer and helps many articulate their voice with development, content edits as a publisher.
“I usually write during night”, says author Nivedita Louis during our conversation. Chuckling she continues,” It’s easier then to focus solely on writing. Nivedita Louis is a writer, with varied interests and one of the founders of Her Stories, a feminist publishing house, based in Chennai.
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