You will wonder when you see the title of this Blog. Why do I call maid ' a commodity'. Commodity she IS. The dictionary meaning of commodity is 'something of value'. The maid is some 'thing' of great value. Whether full time or part time, the maid is a ruler! One thing, it is difficult to get one and the second and important thing is that we have to adjust to her whims and fancies, her mood swings and her 'nakhras'.
The nakhras start right from the beginning, when she comes to your house, in search of a job. A typical conversation will be,
Me : Do you know cooking?
Her: Yes Madam, I can cook Punjabi, Gujrati, Bengali and South Indian dishes. I also specialise in making soups, salads , burgers, pizzas. and whatever you order.
Me: Where were you working previously?
She: I have worked in the house of blah, blah, blah.(she named all top bureaucrats including the ex chief minister) Such a hi-fi maid!! I thought it is better to be without a maid.
A friend suggested that we can try to get one from an agency. We have had very adverse experience with agency maids. The agency people, who supply maids extract money from you, as if you are minting currency! Moreover, we have had very adverse experience with the girls from the agencies. Many of them are of loose morals. One of the maids appointed by us, eloped with a boy servant of our neighbour!
Now we have a mother and daughter team. We are paying them through our nose, but we have to tolerate their whims and fancies. They have to take rest for three to fours hours in the afternoon. A weekly off is their right. If some guest comes, they sulk. We are only four members in the house.For Lunch only I and my husband are at home. The daughter maid is all the time in front of the TV. The senior one is all the time "ill".One day it is headache,the next day will be the stomach and third day her legs. "Mummy ji,give a tablet" is her pet sentence, feigning some ailment or the other. From the kitchen her loud laughter proves her reality.!! On festivals they demand hefty gifts.(not less than five to six thousand)Many times she will state that she is not in a mood to cook, and we should order food from outside.Very smart! When I tell my DIL to chuck them out, she tells me,"Mom, you know, the next one may be worse than this one." I know what she says is true, so we have to continue to tolerate her! After all, beggars cannot be choosers.
What is your experience with this 'precious commodity?'
Ultimate Blog Challenge Day 7
A commodity known as 'maid'.
The nakhras start right from the beginning, when she comes to your house, in search of a job. A typical conversation will be,
Me : Do you know cooking?
Her: Yes Madam, I can cook Punjabi, Gujrati, Bengali and South Indian dishes. I also specialise in making soups, salads , burgers, pizzas. and whatever you order.
Me: Where were you working previously?
She: I have worked in the house of blah, blah, blah.(she named all top bureaucrats including the ex chief minister) Such a hi-fi maid!! I thought it is better to be without a maid.
A friend suggested that we can try to get one from an agency. We have had very adverse experience with agency maids. The agency people, who supply maids extract money from you, as if you are minting currency! Moreover, we have had very adverse experience with the girls from the agencies. Many of them are of loose morals. One of the maids appointed by us, eloped with a boy servant of our neighbour!
Now we have a mother and daughter team. We are paying them through our nose, but we have to tolerate their whims and fancies. They have to take rest for three to fours hours in the afternoon. A weekly off is their right. If some guest comes, they sulk. We are only four members in the house.For Lunch only I and my husband are at home. The daughter maid is all the time in front of the TV. The senior one is all the time "ill".One day it is headache,the next day will be the stomach and third day her legs. "Mummy ji,give a tablet" is her pet sentence, feigning some ailment or the other. From the kitchen her loud laughter proves her reality.!! On festivals they demand hefty gifts.(not less than five to six thousand)Many times she will state that she is not in a mood to cook, and we should order food from outside.Very smart! When I tell my DIL to chuck them out, she tells me,"Mom, you know, the next one may be worse than this one." I know what she says is true, so we have to continue to tolerate her! After all, beggars cannot be choosers.
What is your experience with this 'precious commodity?'
Ultimate Blog Challenge Day 7A commodity known as 'maid'.
Presently I have an excellent one and human too:)...so cant complain, but in the past i have faced other types also..but yes in Chennai i cant find good cooks..
ReplyDeleteYou are fortunate, Renu.
DeleteThat is awful. I do not understand why it should be such a big problem to get a good maid. I have had very good luck with people who have worked in my home. The one I have now is wonderful except she keeps BREAKING things. I feel sorry for her because she does not mean too - hopefully, it will stop soon.
ReplyDeleteCarol these days it has become a big problem.In the past, things were easy. I had a maid, who stayed with me for fourteen years.
DeleteI totally understad this situation Usha ji... believe me its same almost everywhere, you have to go with their whims and fancies. But this one - 'I'm not in a mood to cook so order from outside' is really something!!
ReplyDeleteTina from The Sunny Side of Life
Yes Tina, it is a very sorry state of affairs.
DeleteI guess it's the same everywhere as I have heard my friends ranting about them all the time. Thankfully I never had to deal with maids. Since it was just me and my husband, we managed things between us :)
ReplyDeleteYou are lucky.
Deleteyes maids and helpers are such an ordeal ma'am. And when they come to know we are desperately in need of them, they throw tantrums. I live in an apartment complex and here it is about more demand and less supply. It is a tough task to get a good maid and retain them. Luckily, i have a good part time maid.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, the maids rule now-a-days. I am stuck with the one who does such sloppy work. I hate telling her every now-and then to work properly and cant chuck her out too. As Asha mentioned, there is a gap in the demand and supply. :(
ReplyDeletewe had a mother daughter team too and d only job they had was washing vessels! that too they never did. so mom finally said there was no need of maids n she could do everything on her own! n strangely, she is happier now
ReplyDeleteYes Swathi, these maids are a great nuisance.They know that they are indispensable, so they harass you.
DeleteI have a 'chechi' at home to take care of little P when I'm at office, and she does the work at home except cooking. Cooking is purely my territory, and since I enjoy it, it isn't a problem :) But yes, not every maid is as good, so I know the 'maid woes' unless the ' maid vows' to be good :)
ReplyDeleteHave gotten used to life without a maid, but sometimes esp when I'm unwell I miss having a maid. Here in the US, maid-service is really expensive.
ReplyDelete