The other day my ayah asked me if I’m
earning a certain sum of money. When I asked her what made her think so, she
said her friend who works for the memsahib on the seventh floor in the opposite
block of flats, told her. That’s what is called a ‘telewoman’! As fast as a
teleprinter but not quite so accurate.
It just made me wonder why the seventh
floor memsahib had to concern herself with my income and even if it was idle
interest in my welfare, why she has to discuss it with her ayah. Neither she
nor the ayah will be my heirs, so what’s their game? No wonder the men have
labelled us gossips. I can concede a point to them; though men also are
inclined to idle chatter about other men, they don’t stoop to the level of
inviting the peon or chowkidar to be
a sounding board. At least they choose their peers.
In a colony kind of situation, the
inhabitants are thrown together so much that its but natural to be curious
about the neighbours. But some women have this deplorable tendency to- confide
in their domestic staff. With no
grandiose ideas or feudal leanings, one must realise that a maid is an employee
who has neither any emotional commitment nor loyalty (unless she is one of
those old retainers). It is best to keep her at a distance because her
intellectual capacity is limited to listening and talking. Because they are
good listeners, their employers tend to get carried away and pour out all their
woes — very personal ones too. Nothing good will come out of this as the
listener has neither the training nor the education to advise you or soothe
you. But it doesn’t stop there. At the slightest provocation, she is ready to
spill the beans and pass on the ‘secret’ to her peer group.
Rumours
In our ‘society’ the flats have attached
quarters where the domestic staff can live. If for any reason, the employer throws
out the employee, the loser is the former as the enraged employee passes false
rumours about the tyranny of the lady, and no one ventures to work for her. On
the other hand, another employer willingly takes her on, despite a warning
from the lady who has thrown her out. I find that educated women have less
loyalty for each other than the working class women.
Working women especially, depend more on
the domestic staff. This being so, they tend to go out of their way to please
them so that they can be assured of their continued service. This is the other
extreme of the ones who exploit them.
At a seminar on women’s role, a lady made
a very sensible point. She said that the emergence of the working woman has
increased the employment potential of the illiterate woman who can be employed
to do household chores which is within her capacity, so that the career woman
can pursue her own without the hassles of mundane chores. That and only that,
should be the relationship between the two. One needs the other to a certain
extent, but not as a friend or philosopher or guide. Certainly not as a companion
to gossip!
an
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