Meena aajhi :) :)

      Since the past 40 days my maid has been keeping unwell and her mother has taken over her chores.As I watched her wash my vessels, initially I was very embarrassed.. Ashamed of myself! What kind of a person am I to make an 84 yr old wash my vessels and mop the house.. It didn't feel good! Not one bit! I was perfectly capable of doing it myself until my maid returned... Why make an old lady do it? This thought tormented me for a week and I used to ensure bare minimal vessels for her to wash,until one week later; aajhi( grandmother in Marathi) quizzically asked me as she sipped her chai(yes,i serve tea to my maids ) as to whether I even eat at home as there were hardly any vessels to wash !! I apologized to her and said I had been washing everything as I felt it was not right morally on my part ,considering her age!
   She smiled and calmly replied that, in that case I ought to pay her only a fraction of her daughter's salary (kind of on pro rata basis) as she dint have to do a lot !! I was amazed at her honesty and awe struck at her grit .. Slowly as the days progressed we developed a rappo. She started opening up about her life and why she still chooses to work .
    The more I got to know her,the more I have started learning from her and respecting her.. Today on my birthday I made her favourite elaichai chai and served her cake and clicked selfie's with her! She seemed so happy to be respected and cared for and I brimmed with tears of joy ...

Blushing to pose for a selfie!

Aajhi :)

      Always effervescent like a lily... A little hunched but sprightly still ... A lovely toothless smile spread across her wrinkled face.. A staunch believer of honesty...  but most importantly the  "will power" to fend for oneself without any complaints or any regrets in life...
  Oh Meena aajhi you have taught me so much in such a short span of time !!!