IN a recently printed article some interesting observations were made about the institution of ‘masi’ and the commanding position she has come to occupy in our lives. But the writer completely ignored some other important players of the drama who deserve an honourable mention. Even in the middle class households one now finds several other characters like the masi who are there to make your life or the life of your family easier — or perhaps harder.
In addition to a masi, there has to be a cook to feed you and a maid for the youngest child who is not yet going to school. A watchman is needed to look after the house, and a gardener is a must to keep your lawn in good shape. You will, of course, need a driver to drop and pick the children from school and, more importantly, to take the begum out for shopping and to her coffee parties.
A good cook would ask for a salary, which you might think is on the higher side. But whether you can afford to pay his salary or not, an efficient cook is an important member of your household and you just cannot do without him. You have to entertain your clients and colleagues and the begum has to reciprocate the hospitality of her friends and relatives. In fact, finding a good cook is the hardest part in your search for domestic help. When you start looking for one you may find yourself, and not the bloke, on the mat. The candidate who comes to you for the job would like to ask you a few questions even before you open the negotiations. He will ask you why his predecessor gave up the job. He will not say it in so many words but will insinuate that there must have been something wrong in the management of the kitchen which made him leave. You will be questioned as to how often you invite guests for meals and whether you have a microwave oven, a refrigerator and a deep freezer. He will make it clear that he will be allowed to have a free hand in the kitchen and there will not be any interference in his work by the begum. He will also want to know if there would be a boy to lay the table and wash the dishes.
The maid will tell you in plain words that she will only look after the child and shall not be expected to do any other work in the house. If she is needed round the clock, she will, of course, have to be provided accommodation and food. The watchman will demand the salary prevailing in the area where you live. He will not be prepared to accept anything less than what others are getting in the vicinity because he has to maintain his position among his fraternity. He will ask if he will be required only for day duty or will also be required to work as a night watchman. The size of his pay packet will naturally depend on the extent of his responsibility. The gardener will like to tell you that your garden has not been kept properly and his predecessor had been doing a lousy job. He will say that he will have to rip up the lawn and lay grass of good quality. He will need not only fresh grass for this purpose but also a few truckloads of sweet earth and manure. This would cost you upwards of a few thousand rupees even before he begins to work. He will mention the names of some rare flowers and plants and will try to find out how much you know about maintaining a good garden. The driver would like to known what car you own and how old it is. To impress you suitably he will mention the names of some important people with whom he has worked in the past, who can vouchsafe about his driving skill and reliability. All of them will try to strike a hard bargain with regard to their salary and the number of hours they would be required to work each day. Of course, there would be a day off each week for all of them.
Having gone through lengthy negotiations you are likely to think that you have sorted out the problem of finding a good team of workers for your house, but you would be in for some shocks within the first couple of weeks. All of them will start asking for advance against their salaries to meet some emergencies. This will become a regular feature during the time they choose to stay with you. The driver will suggest that you might buy him a motorcycle so that he can come in time in the morning to take the children to school. All of them will say that the work they are required to do is more than what they had anticipated and they had a good case to ask for an increase in pay. Various other issues will keep cropping up as the time passes and there would always be a veiled threat that unless their demands are met they might have to look for a job elsewhere. Now what to do?
