Maid for each other

Maid for each other

There are five things you need to live happily ever after in Mumbai; trusted maid, faithful driver, skilled barber, proximity to a great coffee shop, and walking distance to the ocean. My wife and I are lucky to have all five in our lives. 

I should write a blog on each of these. But let's talk of our maid today. She runs our home and lives with great devotion, care, and efficiency. The routine of our day revolves around her. She breezes in and out of our home quite a few times in a day to attend the chores we need to be attended. We wait for her to serve us hot Rotis at lunch, make our afternoon tea, keep evening omelet in the microwave, and set and prepare the dinner menu before she leaves for the day. 

Besides her devotion and hard work, her chief quality is a constant smile and frequent laughter. She lives with all the resource constraints of a Mumbai housemaid but has a striking ability to smile and laugh in all circumstances. She is also quite a chatterbox. She is in possession of all the right rumors of our building and neighborhood. She seems to know things before they happen around us. A cut in water supply, the making of a new road, quarrel at a nearby shop, and the birth of puppies by a dog in St Anne's church compound, all known to her before we come to know. 

She shows incredible energy as she goes through the day, walking, climbing stairs, cleaning, and cooking. When she finally bids goodbye to us at 6.30 pm as we begin to watch our NetFlix movie, she readily flashes that same radiant smile she did at 12 noon. 

When we return from our travel, our tiny flat is spik and span and ready to go. If we are returning in the afternoon then thermos full of tea and snack is ready. If it's the evening when we are landing then suitable stuff is made and placed on the kitchen platform. Our summer vacation is planned exactly when she goes to her native place in Ratnagiri. We depart a day prior to her and return when she is already back and made up our home. I am not naming her should someone take her away from us. 

We are 'maid' for each other and would like to remain so as long as we are around. 

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