Amma i am going to fire my maid . She is nice and hardworking but takes a break for 15 days without notice and then turns up . Then again takes absence without leave letter for another 10 days . But whenever she comes she does excellent work , doesnt steal and has pleasing manners .This was when i was working at kochi and had an apartment there.
Mone , you dont know about maids now . The one you got is a gem . At least she doesnt steal , does good work (when she comes once in a blue moon ...i added ) . The others are much worse . Anyone with maids in this era knows how hard it is to get one and how hard it is to keep one . With no HR managers the attrition rate of maids is highest in the industry .
But it was not like this before even ten years before . It was a " masters " (i dont believe in that term ) market . Or more supply and lesser demand . In those days it was very easy to get a maid and people used to cry to keep their employment .
And then there was the golden age of "maids " and "masters " . Or at least in our ancestral homes it was so when i was a child . There was a 70 year old lady with height less than 5 feet who used to call me "kochumothalalee " . Much before my childhood in a feudal era of kerala she was used to calling landlords as "muthalalee " . Though that era had ended and she was treated with love and affection in the family the term "muthalalee meaning landlord " and "small landlord "was used by her still . And other than my toys i was not a landlord though my grandfather was " a muthalalee " . Coming back to the golden age for the ;"masters " there was plentiful supply of hardworking workers who were in addition extremely devoted and loving . And on their part the "masters " took care of their servants and helped them in their major life events like marriage , sickness etc . (no provident fund , no retirals .. it was a job for life ) .
If this was on my paternal ancestral house on my maternal house we had "acha , aatha ,annan and ikka " . All of them above 60 annan was called "annan" or brother till he died . A childless couple annan and acha were in our ancestral home from their youth . Acha took care of the cooking in the family while annan had a small umbrella repairing business in daytime . During night he used to come back with a small packet of fresh jalebis which was equally distributed among my cousins . Having travelled all over india i still havent got the taste of that jalebi which he used to bring .
Aatha was even older and though old she had the strength of a man and razor sharp tongue . She was nice at heart but even the toughies on the street used to shudder when she walked as she used to do the shopping .Her daughter died when she was young and she had no relatives . Though all of them were maids they were treated like family members in our house .And when she died she had a funeral in the same manner in which my grandma had a funeral .
Times have changed now and now it is one of the most in demand job at least in kerala . But still when i see any of them i remember annan ,,acha,atha etc who never can be replaced by any of the " modern day domestic help " . And i miss the jalebis ....
Mone , you dont know about maids now . The one you got is a gem . At least she doesnt steal , does good work (when she comes once in a blue moon ...i added ) . The others are much worse . Anyone with maids in this era knows how hard it is to get one and how hard it is to keep one . With no HR managers the attrition rate of maids is highest in the industry .
But it was not like this before even ten years before . It was a " masters " (i dont believe in that term ) market . Or more supply and lesser demand . In those days it was very easy to get a maid and people used to cry to keep their employment .
And then there was the golden age of "maids " and "masters " . Or at least in our ancestral homes it was so when i was a child . There was a 70 year old lady with height less than 5 feet who used to call me "kochumothalalee " . Much before my childhood in a feudal era of kerala she was used to calling landlords as "muthalalee " . Though that era had ended and she was treated with love and affection in the family the term "muthalalee meaning landlord " and "small landlord "was used by her still . And other than my toys i was not a landlord though my grandfather was " a muthalalee " . Coming back to the golden age for the ;"masters " there was plentiful supply of hardworking workers who were in addition extremely devoted and loving . And on their part the "masters " took care of their servants and helped them in their major life events like marriage , sickness etc . (no provident fund , no retirals .. it was a job for life ) .
If this was on my paternal ancestral house on my maternal house we had "acha , aatha ,annan and ikka " . All of them above 60 annan was called "annan" or brother till he died . A childless couple annan and acha were in our ancestral home from their youth . Acha took care of the cooking in the family while annan had a small umbrella repairing business in daytime . During night he used to come back with a small packet of fresh jalebis which was equally distributed among my cousins . Having travelled all over india i still havent got the taste of that jalebi which he used to bring .
Aatha was even older and though old she had the strength of a man and razor sharp tongue . She was nice at heart but even the toughies on the street used to shudder when she walked as she used to do the shopping .Her daughter died when she was young and she had no relatives . Though all of them were maids they were treated like family members in our house .And when she died she had a funeral in the same manner in which my grandma had a funeral .
Times have changed now and now it is one of the most in demand job at least in kerala . But still when i see any of them i remember annan ,,acha,atha etc who never can be replaced by any of the " modern day domestic help " . And i miss the jalebis ....
loved this one brought back sweet memories of ACHA man thnk u
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