As I step into my house after a monotonous yet exhaustive day at college, my mother yells " you kids live in your own fantasy lands/nobody cares as to how the house is running/can't even pick up your own clothes/when I was of your age I took care of the whole house while my mother simply sat in a corner and instructed! Plus a special one specially thrown on me - what will you do in your sasural/get out of the illusion that your mom-in-law will cook for you!"
And the moment my ears vibrate to such a noise I instantly knows that 'our dear maid is on leave today'!!
In today's era when each one of us is so terribly bounded by time which ticks at a lightening speed, interdependency on 'helpers' comes natural. In fact they are our lifelines much the same way as Internet and cell phones. And going by the ever increasing demands our 'bai-s' happen to be one of the most dominating people of our society today.
At times I seriously wonder if we medicos or engineers or bankers play a role as pivotal as these women clad in suits with a bun do?
And so our dear bai-s come up with their own set of demands and pay packages.
They need a holiday on a Sunday plus an additional off every two weeks never hurts HER (it does ruin my weekend though) when a shopping plan is murdered brutally as my mom drags me verbally to the kitchen!
Last week our bai turned up after a long 4 days holiday(it seems much longer to me for obvious reasons) and on being interrogated told that she had a marriage to attend tomorrow! Imagine being away from work 4 days prior to 'neighbour's marriage'..am sure you can't afford it even in your wildest dreams but she is our Bai. She definitely can!
To top it up the lady wanted a brand new sari, to which my mom agreed almost instantly (poor thing she got no choice) and I was red with rage. c'mon I wore an old sari even for my farewell, now isnt this pure bias?!
Not only this she comes every day to work with a fresh gajra in her bun teemed up with matching earrings and bags. Needless to say she has a cell phone too!
Coming to the resignation rules,our dear bai has none! I mean she can resign any day, any hour and at any instant. For reasons which vary from exceeding workload to bizarre ones of not being offered tea and snacks in the evening!
One of our neighbours maid quit the job because their little 4 year old kid spilled milk on her. I dearly sympathize with him going by the serious trauma that innocent soul would have faced from her mother after this lady left in cold blood.
Well ,enough of sulking now ( but believe me that sari thing really hurt).
I am seriously planning to do some part time course in 'being-bai' because the future seems to be more secure and lavish with that degree now-a-days. And by the way, when I told my mom about this idea all she had to say was 'beta, today is a Sunday, go wash the utensils' !
P.S : Our maid owns a Nokia N-97! I am NOT exaggerating, I swear! :P
first time here Sarah...enjoyed reading ur post :) :)
ReplyDeleteOh I so understand ur plight. When ever I speak to my mum n she is upset, it's the maids fault. N seriously we plan almost everything around her arrival so if she dosn't turn up, it screws up things.
ReplyDeleteAfter the PM, CM and the DM , the HM - House maid is the most powerful person.
ReplyDeletehehe sarahhhh!!!! ur jealous of ur bai!!!
ReplyDeleten u kno wat! i too wrote a post on dis subject, tho a bit different- wil post it soon.
yaar sachi! d same thing happens in my hous n in many places ur nt even allowed to fire ur baai cos if u do, den nobody els wil cum to wrk fr u- like sum kind of a union! :D
waise u mite b in real troubl u kno, if ur baai has an n-97, she cud activate internet n read ur blog too!
wudn dat b sweet? ;):P
lol..enjoyed it thoroughly...my sympathies with you :) i wonder what will happen if your Bai read this post? :) best of luck...
ReplyDelete@Alka: Our PM does not open mouth Alka, But, if our own Bai opens, the roar can stop at her own will.
ReplyDelete@Israr: If Bai reads she will bid bye as said by sarah.
Sarah,
Well written post. Had smile on my face. Loved the title of the blog. Witty girl.
True. True. They exploit us to the core and when we refuse to negotiate with their demands; the tantrum starts. Main itne mein kaam nahin karungi. Saath waali aunty ji to tumse zada deti hai aur wo bhi sirf 1 time kay.
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding, she has N series? My degrees and awards are total waste. Why study so much, when we have such rewarding professions where your boss pampers you so much. Fun post, love your style...
ReplyDeletehaha.. very refreshing post Sarah :)
ReplyDeletelol...but true....delhi was in mess and tempers were running high when all the bai's were thrown out of NCR during CWG...
ReplyDeleteCheers!
SUB
how i hate when our maid vanishes without notice and half the household chores is 'ladofied' on me....huh...seriously maids have become a vital part of our livin...loved this post...truly enjoyd readin it...:)
ReplyDeletehehe.. witty post.. and yeah at times its not the big of things that matters the most but the small things which makes a big difference. Hopefully you will get a new sari soon :)
ReplyDeleteWeakest LINK
Pwahahahah you know this one time i happened to return home at the time when my bai is supposed to b cleaning the house. I saw her sipping on tea while my mother was sweeping. On being asked my mother said ''uski kamar dukh rahi hai isliye''.
ReplyDelete@ sukupedia - glad u liked it..welcome to d blog :)
ReplyDelete@ rituparna - yes..my mom isnt upset on me for my faults own MOST of the time..but wht her maids said/did that day..sigh!
@ Alka - LOL...well said :D
@ sadiya - ab jealous hone ki to baat hai hi naa...and omg! I never thot abt it..m sooo damn tensed now :O rushes to password protect her post* :P
@ Israr - hehe...d trouble is not her finding it out but what if my mom finds out that she resigned coz of me? m sooo dead then! :P
@ spicy sweet - thnks for answering on my behalf yar :P and glad u liked it!
@ prateek - hehe...bang on! Its an exploitation of its own kind much like v face in our colleges and schools..but then a necessary evil:D
ReplyDelete@ Saru - Even i had a similar reaction..My cell phone doesnt even cost half of it ;-(
@ varsha - thnks..good to c u after a long time :)
@ SUB - yeah i remember the time..most of the people went on vacation then, so the situation was saved greatly!
@ Vaisakhi - same story everywhere! But the 'sunday' part hurts a bit too much i tell u :P
@Rachit - Ghee- sugar in ur mouth :P farewell pe nahi at least college convocation pe to mil hi jaegi :P
@ Red handed - ROTFL! aisa bhi hota hai !!
Very apt example of how we r becoming slaves of the luxury, written with true emotions....lol and I read this smwhr that A successful married life is purely dependent on the maid the couple have.... ;)
ReplyDeleteKeep it up Sarah....
hahaaa...so true....:))
ReplyDeleteat times if their hubby doesn't turn up for couple of days from their work place, ladies seldom bother but if their maid fails to turn up even for a day you one can see their concern for those maids....:))
Hahaha, I must say such a riveting post. I wish it could have carried for more. I was loving it. Hahaha, sahi tha...
ReplyDeleteIf you say that, I would say true. Naukaron k dukh dard pe likha hua post, pleased to read it, was different, and unexpected. Here through Penning down the mind
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Sarcastically Special
Every Mom loves to say that "what will you do in your sasural" :P :P
ReplyDeleteTrust me your bai is super danger lady... N series LOL :D :D
Hilarity at a new level. Thanks for highlighting the "maid dependency" issues in our society. Maids are literally sitting on our heads these days.
ReplyDeleteBTW, thanks for visiting my blog :)
loved the play on the words- bai & bye
ReplyDeleteagree to what Alka said, PM,CM & HM - all powerful :)
yup, notice periods, resignations etc dont apply to them only salary hikes do. man, we really are so so dependent on them :(
she has an N series!!??? she has an N series??!! am going bonkers :))
@ rahul - yes, d emotions r extremely genuine :P and a very apt saying u have quoted..maids do play a very vital role now a days :)
ReplyDelete@Irfanuddin - LOL..bang on! our maids r d most awaited 'guest' of d day..everyday ;)
@Animesh - Well i could have cribbed on for hours but then all good things have to come to an end u c :P
@ SS - glad u liked it..but yahan dukh dard mera hai :( welcome to d blog!
@Reicha - oh ya..thats every mother's fav pick up line :D
@ Kiran - yes..its an issue that is increasing to newer levels each passing day..God help!
@Sujatha - they r our lifelines..and she does have an N-series with a cool collection of movies in it too ;)
lol... good post .. yes they do njoy too many benefits, add on perks, with very lil work... and the "Sasural jaake kya karogi bit"...phew, thats now a common case scenario in every house is it ??? :P
ReplyDeleteWriting about the bai is a must write post for every blogger :D
ReplyDeleteBut what to do, she is the life line, our knight with her jhadoo :)
heehee :D Sarah this was ultimate fun :D I heard a lot about these maids, my mum as yours well tries to pull me in household stuffs, in which she fails terribly :P Two months vacations, I did nothing but laze around, shop and meet friends :P
ReplyDeleteAnd about depending on maids, well the future is going to be such that doing every and anything is going to be necessary. I have learned many things, I am better at things than any maid :P Exaggerating maybe, but yes I remember the Lesson written by "Shobhaa De Right, Girls?" Explains all :) :)Nice post :)
Cheers,
how true... i wish we didnt have to be so dependent on these people... they take us for a ride at times.. and at times i feel i should have opted for that career...
ReplyDeleteOffcourse demands will increase only naa...and FYI why do you allow her to dance on your head..never heard of such a dominating maid. Ours is an innocent lady....that Aunty is too cool..does her job and leaves quietly.Strange to know that you got a sinister maid and she has N97 doesnt suprises me.
ReplyDelete