EVEN TODAY, domestic help is still available in India. During my mother’s time, the helpers used to work day and night. They were given an hour’s time off for a bath and a meal. Even in the middle of the night, they were woken up if someone in the family wanted a body or a head massage. Nowadays, however, we treat them more like human beings. Meals are given at meal times and during the afternoons, they are given a few hours to rest. Medical help is given when they are unwell. Nowadays, they demand good pay, a good place to stay, fan, etc. In spite of getting all these, they still prefer to work at the construction sites under a contractor. They admit that the work is much tougher, but the money is good and after 5 pm, they are free.

As a result, most of the people are left with part time women workers. At the moment they are in great demand. They have opened a new avenue for the housewives. There are various types of part time maids. I know one maid who works for someone in Silpukhuri. She goes there for the whole day and is paid a sum of Rs 1800 plus food. Her children look after the house while she is away at work. Her husband is a good carpenter and he is also in demand. But the problem with him is that he is very moody. Most of the time he is either sleeping or drinking. However, he is always wide awake when his wife arrives after the day’s hard work and the first thing he does is ask her for money. She keeps the money ready, and invariably always gives it to him to avoid unpleasantness. Durga, the woman, has four children – two girls and two boys. The girls have given up their education, while the boys don’t seem that interested in studies either. Their future seems clouded in a haze of uncertainty.

Rupa is another part time maid I know as she works for my brother. Altogether, she works at three different places and is always hard pressed for time. After finishing work at her own home first, she begins her work outside and never wastes time gossiping, sitting down for a paan or a cup of tea. She works non-stop and always manages to finish her work on time. According to her, her husband had a good job. He was given his own quarters with electricity and running water. At the time, she was running a small business, selling mekhela-chadars and sarees. They were a happy family, with three daughters. Suddenly, a big change came over them. For no reason, the husband suddenly began acting very strange. At first, everybody tolerated it, but soon, the situation escalated out of hand. At this point, Rupa decided to take some action. After leaving her daughters with her father, she took her husband for treatment to Tezpur. There she came to know that her husband harboured feelings of pathological jealousy and the trouble started from there. After that, she took him back to his village and left him with his people there. Meanwhile, her eldest daughter eloped with a boy during her absence. The family was beset with problems. Though, admittedly, she does find living in a big city like Guwahati with her two daughters extremely difficult, she finds herself with no other alternative, for her husband is no longer the peace loving person they knew and loved.

Basanti is another part time worker in our area. I have been seeing her for years. Originally, they hail from Bihar, but have been living in Guwahati for many years. Her husband is a rikshawala. Both of them go out to work at the same time. She works at four places and gets Rs 500 from each place. Her work includes sweeping and mopping the floor (does not matter how big the area is) and washing the utensils. In case she has to do any other work, additional money must be paid. I used to see one more, very young, part time worker. She also worked at three places and by nine O’clock in the morning, she used to go back home. Her husband had been posted to Nalbari and he did not like her working because she had to bring up two small children. But she wanted her own money. One morning, he caught her red handed and gave her a sound thrashing for disobeying him.

In Bangalore, I met a part timer, who worked at my sister’s place. She worked at many places. From morning till evening she was busy. She worked twice a day at two places. Her husband had left her for another woman, but her son had made her very proud because he was extremely good in his studies. Her self-confidence and spirit of hard work were extremely praiseworthy. After a few years, I met her again on my next trip to Bangalore. Her whole face looked different. Though she had gained some weight, the wrinkles around her eyes had disappeared and her eyes looked brighter. Needless to say, she was now living in comfort as her son was supporting her and she did not have to carry on the daily drudgery of work.

Kaita was a part time worker in Yerevan (capital of Armenia). She was a Russian – a tall, fair, big built person. She had been working at my son’s and his mother-in-law’s place for many years. She was a woman of few words, but a very sincere worker. Washing a carpet was like washing a bedsheet for her. After finishing her work, she used to appreciate a big meal, which she would eat with the family at the family dining table. I was surprised to learn that she also played the piano very well. At the age of 54, she remarried and moved to Moscow where she now lives happily with her husband and his two children.

Lakhimi Baruah