Girl Child

When I was growing up, my younger sister and I had an elderly lady take care of us. She had a few grandchildren, one of whom was my sister’s and my playmate. He was a few years younger to us and used to play with us. He was quite bright as a child but later did not finish his high school education and now has become an alcoholic. This is such a typical scenario with domestic help in Bombay; producing children is a national past time and invariably these women work as domestic maids while their non productive, alcoholic husbands abuse them. This lady’s youngest granddaughter, who is around 12 to 13 years younger to me, was a toddler at that time. She would accompany her grandmother to our place. She was such a cute cherub; my sisters and I loved to fuss over her.

Few years ago, my mother needed some help and asked this woman to find someone for her. She suggested the cherub, who was fourteen years old then. Her grandmother wanted to get her out of school so that she could earn money and contribute to the family kitty as her father and older brother were both alcoholics. My mother offered to take her in our house and insisted that she goes to school. Education for girls in India is free till the 12th grade so my parents did not have to pay her fees. My mother decided to put her salary into a bank account and take care of her school books, clothes, food and other expenses. This girl is very pretty and since she was in her teens, my mother was concerned about her general welfare and environment.

She completed her High School Certificate a few years ago. She is rather timid and my mother insisted that she gets a college degree so that she can get a better job and have a better life for herself. She is an extremely mild mannered and a very loving girl so we all have a soft corner for her. She started studying part-time; earning and learning. Meanwhile her father took off in an alcoholic stupor six years ago and has not returned home till date. No one knows if he is alive or dead! Her brother gets fired from every job as he is dead drunk most of the time. This girl is the only one in the family who has completed her education and in fact will sit for her Bachelor of Arts exams soon. Of course education in India is subsidized but in her case it is creditable because she decided to pursue it. Life offers you opportunities, one just has to recognize them as such and grab them.

My mother told me this morning that this girl has got engaged recently. Her alcoholic brother, like a vulture, came to my parent’s home to find out how much she has saved up all these years. My mother has told the girl that she will be giving it to her and not her brother. Since she will be starting a new life, she needs whatever help she can get. Most importantly she has earned it all herself!

When my mother had an accident a few years ago, she took care of her as if she were her own mother. I will always remain indebted to this beautiful child for that one reason only. She will be getting married in June 2007. My mother informed me that she has decided to make her some gold jewelry as well. She will leave Bombay and therefore won’t be working for my parents. My parents are rather old now and my first question was if they found a substitute who would take care of them? My mother told me to lead my own life in America and not bother about theirs. I realized that my parents are so attached to this child that they look at her as their fourth daughter and not a domestic help. In my defense, this is a perfectly logical question. Shoot me for being a concerned daughter!