The Green Bangles

Crack! Went another of those green bangles on Bai's wrists. Those green bangles were dearly cherished by the 35 year old domestic help who earned Rs.3000 a month after wiping floors clean, washing clothes and utensils in 10 suburban households. This was the second bangle which had broken asunder since morning and both because of the rigorous wear and tear they were subjected to. The bangles were merely symbolic in nature; symbolising that she was married and was the lady of a family. The only thing that her wedded husband did was rob Bai off a Thousand Rupees every month to buy his supply of country liquor. But Bai proudly displayed her green bangles although pride was the last thing that would come to the mind of a lady like her, a lady who raised her 3 kids on her own.

Bai was how the maid servant was addressed in the 10 households she visited and no one really knew her name or anything about her family. All that was known about her was that she came from the slums at the feet of the hillock on which the new Municipal Garden was inaugurated.

Pieces of green glass were strewn in the kitchen amidst beautiful Chinaware, silverware and fragile dishes about which Bai had once inquired with the lady of the household whether they were 'IMPOTTED'. She had never ever cracked costly glassware which she washed but the green bangles which were cheaper than a pinch of salt often cracked at unexpected moments. She immediately cleared off the strewn pieces and braced herself for a scolding from Tai.

Tai was what she called the housewives of the houses where she worked. Housewives who got together for tea and indulged in gossiping and flaunting their new clothes or jewellery. Bai was never scolded for such a minor offence but nevertheless she always felt guilty when something which was uncalled for happened.

The concerned Tai did not even bother to inquire about the broken glass because she knew that the glass had sounded cheap. Bai hurried off to her next workplace after disposing the broken glass. Her routine was very well scheduled. She completed her work and returned home before her kids came back from school. She started early in the morning to finish off the work at the family she called the 11th floor family. How she wished her children would be educated as much as her employers'! She often struck conversation with a Tai leaning on the sofa and watching T.V. or the Tai who was in a hurry to leave for office in a chauffeur driven sedan.

She didn't know what was happening in Delhi or about the budget presented there. She didn't even know there were so many developed countries in the world where it was hard to find cheap labour to do the work which she did. She didn't care whether a certain nation had a border dispute with another or whether India won the World Cup or not. But what she did care for was whether she would be able to buy textbooks for her children or whether the next gallon of kerosene would be cheaper.

Her conversation with the Tai would revolve around how her distant relative faced a predicament or how her shanty gets flooded after the first rain. But she also tries to find similarities between her slum world and the posh multi-storeyed world. She would talk as if the Tai also faced similar day to day problems as she did. Sometimes registering shock over how the price of one kilogramme of onions has risen or about how it is tough to prepare a meal in the morning. She found great pleasure in pointing out talents in the Tai's kids and then proudly claiming that her youngest one could speak English like them too. She was confident of a great future although she was aware that her hopes were blurred if not diminished day by day. The mistresses responded with casual Hmmms and Ohs or at times they completely ignored her presence but that didn't stop Bai from rattling off the names of her siblings and how she had married off each one of them in a respectable family. But such and related talks are often greeted by an uninterested audience.

Bai was a spoke in the wheel of routine in the lives of the houses she worked in. Ever punctual and efficient but was her work noteworthy enough to attract special attention? She came, she scrubbed, and she left again to return the next day.
Bai's eldest son was appearing for his Board Examinations. She had bought all the necessary books and even paid for his tuition fees. She had already asked the 6th floor Tai whether her son would get a job after his schooling. She wanted her children to be able to feed themselves just like her.

Bai sought more jobs to be able to buy stationery for her eldest son. At times, a Tai gave away old clothes for Bai's kids. Bai would gladly take away the leftovers from her workplaces. She could save a lot of kerosene consumed during cooking. She gave her husband only Rs. 500 for his alcoholic purposes. Not willingly, but after a lot of beating up by her husband. She took away plastic bottles to the recycler to earn some extra money. Her employers didn't bother where she took away those as long as she got rid of those ugly tins and bottles. She used this extra money for medicines in case her young ones caught a cold.
The local doctor didn't charge consulting fees for Bai's family because she worked at his house. But she didn't like to carry the burden of obligations, so she secretly bought sweets and candies for the Doctor's kids from half of her salary. Once, she even bought a ball for the Doctor's child which made the child so happy that he unknowingly went and told the Doctor all about who gave him the gifts. Bai was reprimanded for this but she didn't stop buying the sweets. Her own children had never tasted milk and she took a leaf out of Dronacharya's book when her kids asked for milk. She gave them flour mixed in water and they enjoyed it just like Ashwatthama.

On one rainy afternoon in June, when Bai returned to her shanty after a tiring day, she was greeted by her eldest son who wore a smile which read anticipation, excitement and hope. He informed his mother that the results were to be declared the next day. “Good. Are you sure you are going to pass? I hope you are ready to get a job. I have already inquired at quite a few places. Oh! There goes another one of those bangles. I'll get new ones at tomorrow's weekly market if you pass your exams."

The next day she woke up early and visited the temple in the garden on the hillock. She applied a Tilak on her son's forehead and wished him luck before he started for his school to collect his result. Bai was anxious to know whether her son had passed or not. She had heard that the Post Office hired people after the secondary exams. There would be nothing like a stable Government job felt Bai. She still had faith in the system and exercised her right to vote unlike her employers in the high rise.
It didn't take long for her son to come back. He had passed his board examinations! He had scored a satisfactory 50%, enough for him to get a job to help his siblings read and write. Bai was glad and rushed off to offer a coconut to the deity on the hillock.

She was late at work that day. Late enough to find the housewives boiling with rage. "Be quick Bai! You are already late! Why do you want me to scold you?” screamed the 8th floor Tai. Bai looked at her employer in the reflection of the plate she was washing. Tai had already left for the tea party on the 4th floor.

Bai's gaze turned to her own reflection on the steel surface. She could see the tears running on her cheeks in the reflection. Those were tears of joy. The joy of knowing that she had helped her son become self dependent.
She resumed scrubbing off the stains of rich food on the plate. Her hands moving mechanically and the shiny new green bangles on her wrist, the first gift she had bought for herself, jingling sweetly.