Domestic service can extract a family from extreme poverty – but it can also be a path to near-enslavement. Tripti Lahiri investigates the uneasy,and sometimes abusive, relationship between Indias contemporary-day madams’ and maidsKnock twice, and not three times. If someone banged your door hard,wouldn’t you get cross?” asks Preeti, a woman in her early twenties with a bachelor’s degree in political science – which may reach in useful when preparing the group of women she now instructs on the art of being a superior maid. “Madam gets cross too. Knock on the door lightly like this, or ask for permission to reach in.”Suddenly there is a loud bang on the door,which startles Preeti. The kudawala has reach to pick up the rubbish; he asks for it in a sullen tone with microscopic apparent care for how his knocking is received. Much giggling ensues among the women.
For the most section, the newly enriched in India are not bursting with compassion and generosity for othersToday's domestic workers no longer consider themselves far beneath the people they work for Related: The Inequality Project: the Guardian's in-depth inspect at our unequal world Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com