May, 1998<\/p>\n
Hello from Bombay,<\/p>\n
We employ two servants, but it is hard to communicate what all that means if you don’t live with them and interact with them on a day-to-day basis.\u00a0 I will share a few examples. This past Saturday evening at 7:00 p.m. the doorbell rings.\u00a0 It is our driver, Hasmukh.\u00a0 We had not asked for his services that evening even though we were going out.\u00a0\u00a0 He works 8\u20116 Monday through Saturday and after that we pay him 40 rupees an hour ($1) overtime.\u00a0 This past week we utilized his after-hours services a few times, partly because it is difficult to find parking once we arrive at our destination, and partly because it is his son’s birthday and we thought the extra income would help him purchase a gift.\u00a0 That we thought the second one begins to get at what I mean by day-to-day living with and employing a servant.<\/p>\n
So Hasmukh is at the door asking if we are going out that night.\u00a0 Odd, I thought, but he is very nice, very polite, very trustworthy, so I wasn’t bothered or suspicious and told him, “Yes, as a matter of fact, we are.\u00a0 We need to be somewhere at 8 o’clock.”\u00a0 It bothered me a little, knowing that it bothers him when I drive.\u00a0 Don’t misunderstand me.\u00a0 He is not bothered because he is missing out on overtime, or because he is not tooling along in our lovely(?), luxury(?!), 1987 Toyota Van.\u00a0 Oh no!\u00a0 He’s bothered because Sahib (pronounced saab, like the car) is driving, something Sahibs or Memsahibs (Sahib’s wife) do not do.\u00a0 In my typical American disregard for my proper station (which I am certain neither Hasmukh nor Patsy begrudge), I am doing something outside my calling and worse, doing something that is within his.<\/p>\n
Forgive the digression, but here’s a great example of this mentality.\u00a0\u00a0 Many mornings, Eric likes me to take him to school (one minute from my office) early so he can study a bit before class.\u00a0 The first morning I did that, Hasmukh was already on our office grounds, having driven his co\u2011employer, a colleague of mine, in early.\u00a0 Hasmukh was standing on the sidewalk outside the open gates of the office’s compound and when he saw me make the right turn (across an opposing lane of traffic; remember we drive on the left here) he ran out into the street wanting to hop in to take over.\u00a0 My first impulse was to get out and let him do it.\u00a0 Then I thought, what on earth, I’m in the middle of traffic.\u00a0 I smiled and motioned to Hasmukh that I would drive on in.\u00a0 But he was very apologetic and anxious for me to GET OUT FROM BEHIND THE DRIVER’S SEAT so for goodness sake he could at least park it.<\/p>\n
Back to last Saturday, Hasmukh told me with his modest English that he and his brother (a motor pool driver where I work) were going to the airport to pick up a dog that had been flown in from Karachi, Pakistan (owned by a colleague stationed there, I know Heather helped obtain the dog, but I don’t know the whole story).\u00a0 He could take a taxi, he explained, but it would be a long, difficult trip, so could he use our van?\u00a0 It takes a good hour to drive to the airport, possibly longer on a Saturday evening (at least going), and it would be worse in a cab.\u00a0 So we arranged that if he could drive us to the Yacht Club (we were going to a Scottish Dance; not to watch, but to do), around 8 and pick us up between 10:30 and 11:00, then no problem.\u00a0 And it solved our parking problem.\u00a0 So we went.\u00a0 And we danced.\u00a0 And at 10:45 when we left the yacht Club and went downstairs, no Hasmukh.\u00a0 As I mentioned, he is very trustworthy and he treats the car as if it were his own, if not better.\u00a0 So I didn’t worry.\u00a0 Until 11:15.\u00a0 And 11:30.\u00a0 Here we were, wife, 10 year-old daughter (who by now was exhausted) and me at the un\u2011air conditioned (straight out of the British era) Yacht Club of Bombay.\u00a0 We were sweaty, uncomfortable, and wondering what was up.\u00a0 We worried there had been a problem at the airport, or perhaps a breakdown or an accident.\u00a0 By 11:45, we got a ride with some of the last departing folks from the dance.\u00a0 I checked in the garage back at our place about 12:15.\u00a0 Still no car!\u00a0 I was exhausted, but I hated to go to sleep before I had heard what had happened, convinced by this time that whatever had happened was no doubt bad.\u00a0 Just as I was dozing off on the couch, the doorbell rang.\u00a0 It was 12:50.\u00a0 I opened it and there stood Hasmukh, his brother Anil, and a cute little mutt of a dog on a leash.\u00a0 They were very apologetic, said that the customs process had taken long, but finally, here they were.\u00a0 I was just glad that everybody and the car were o.k.\u00a0 And we got a thorough car cleaning out of the deal.\u00a0 On the one hand, we worried some that evening but on the other, we have a grateful employee who feels even more loyal to us and who will continue to give us good service and help us care for our car.<\/p>\n
Here’s another servant story:\u00a0 This past week\u2011end, Patsy said goodbye to her daughter and husband.\u00a0 They will not see each other again for a year.\u00a0 Hubby and daughter are going back to his home place in the far north of India where he will have some job opportunities with the family and the girl, Preeah, will be able to go to a good school.\u00a0 We asked Patsy why she is not moving, too.\u00a0 Because she has a good job.\u00a0 It especially makes Nita cringe to think that WE are that good job, and the $100 a month she makes with us is worth the separation.\u00a0 I asked if Preeah cried when they left.\u00a0 Not really, Patsy said, but her husband was concerned about leaving his wife in the big city.\u00a0 Patsy assured him that her Sir and Madam (that’s what she calls us), would take good care of her.\u00a0 Another heavy thing for us.\u00a0 And though she will still have Sundays off, she will not be going back to her home, but will simply live in the tiny quarters we provide her next to our flat.\u00a0 Along these lines, Hasmukh has a wife and two sons who live an overnight train trip north in Gujurat, a state in India.\u00a0 Since he works six days a week, how often can he, too, see his family?\u00a0 It is typical for many workers to be separated from their families for extended times for economic necessities.<\/p>\n
Two\u00a0 more servant quickies:\u00a0 Katie and I made fig jam this evening.\u00a0 I rinsed the pots a bit but didn’t wash a thing, knowing that Patsy will be glad to do it tomorrow.\u00a0 Also, they sell both sweet and (one of my favorite fruits) sour cherries here.\u00a0 I intend to get sour cherries for pies, and preserves.\u00a0 And guess who will do the odious job of pitting the cherries?\u00a0 Not Sahib or his wife, that’s for sure.<\/p>\n
Things here are fine.\u00a0 Many thanks for the e\u2011mail, regular mail, and, yes, even the few phone calls we’ve gotten.\u00a0 If you’re feeling adventuresome, a great time to call is Friday night U.S. time, which is Saturday morning our time.<\/p>\n
Much love, Gary Sahib, Nita Memsahib, the two Sahiblings and the Memsahiblette<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
May, 1998 Hello from Bombay, We employ two servants, but it is hard to communicate what all that means if you don’t live with them and interact with them on a day-to-day basis.\u00a0 I will share a few examples. This … Continue reading