Oh Bai !

A week has passed since my maid went on leave to her village,leaving me with fatigue, and sore hands ( washing vessels can be such a pain ). All efforts to get a partime maid, in her absence, have been in vain.
Realization has hit me like a place hit by a tornado - life can be thrown totally out of gear when the maid goes on leave . Today the smooth running of the house is dependant entirely on the "bai' ! She is indispensable to the efficient running of the household, so much so that the lady of the house would rather turn a blind eye to sloppy work than face the risk of the maid leaving- in her opinion , most of the maids (barring a few) do sloppy work anyway. Hence if goodnatured Kantabai leaves, along may come Sakubai who also will do sloppy work and in addition may be of an undesirable temperament and make life more miserable for the mistress . There follows a verbal tussle over the issue of Kantabai, with the lady of the house insisting that Kantabai continue, and the other members of the house insisting that Kantabai be sacked for her sloppy work and for taking too many holidays . Much to the chargin of the majority of the family members, Kantabai retains her job , thanks to the mistress ! Kantabai also knows this and carries on merrily as before, in full confidence that come what may, "sethani" will never sack her since she cannot do without her .The mistress's peace of mind depends on her working here , since she (Kantabai) is goodnatured and does not talk back even when she is scolded for not doing her work properly .
Last week I had to plan a dinner a week before it was scheduled because my maid was going on leave two days later !