More reflections on having servants
My internal conflicts with having “servant staff” have come through repeatedly in my blog entries.
The “good parts” of having servants are immediately apparent. We come home every day to gourmet and freshly cooked meals, and a clean house. In some senses, this really should be the norm for everyone. What are the alternatives we face in the US, for those that work outside of the home? We can:
• Come home from work, shop for fresh items, and cook something delicious and nutritious that won’t be ready till midnight
• Wake up a couple of hours before you leave for work, and cook for the evening
• Re-heat food prepared from over the weekend
• Prepare something quick and processed and not terribly healthy
Over the years, I have done all of these things…
The “strange” parts of servant staff are more subtle and unfold over time.
First, there is joy even in the most “unpleasant” parts of our routines, a joy that we probably rarely reflect on, and certainly not while we are immersed in those routines. I remember waking up with infants in the middle of the night…and with four sons, that went on for years, cumulatively. If on any morning I were asked whether I would like someone to take on the 3:00 am duties, I would have eagerly accepted the offer. But looking back, I am happy to reflect on the “stuff” that I did, and I would be less happy now if I had “outsourced” it. Though I would have impulsively outsourced it if I were given a choice at the time.
Second, and perhaps not unrelated, you feel less “connected” to your own house. In the states, I was intimately familiar with the kitchen, and spent more waking time there than in any other room in the house. That is not true here, of course, where I do neither the cleaning nor cooking myself. And here is one of the consequences of that: Amnon had an Israeli friend over a few weeks ago, and I made them coffee. I often make an Israeli concoction referred to as “café mukszaf” – it’s just instant coffee, sugar, and few drops of water which you mix vigorously with a spoon for several minutes till the mixture gets thick and pale, and your wrists start to hurt. By infusing air into it with vigorous mixing, the coffee gets a layer of foam on top and actually tastes creamier. I proudly brought the coffee out to Amnon and our guest. Amnon took a sip….and discovered that I had inadvertently made the concoction with salt. (It was a white substance in an unmarked empty Nutella jar.) We all laughed, and I made more coffee for all….But I reflected on the significance of not actually knowing where the sugar is in your own kitchen.
The “good parts” of having servants are immediately apparent. We come home every day to gourmet and freshly cooked meals, and a clean house. In some senses, this really should be the norm for everyone. What are the alternatives we face in the US, for those that work outside of the home? We can:
• Come home from work, shop for fresh items, and cook something delicious and nutritious that won’t be ready till midnight
• Wake up a couple of hours before you leave for work, and cook for the evening
• Re-heat food prepared from over the weekend
• Prepare something quick and processed and not terribly healthy
Over the years, I have done all of these things…
The “strange” parts of servant staff are more subtle and unfold over time.
First, there is joy even in the most “unpleasant” parts of our routines, a joy that we probably rarely reflect on, and certainly not while we are immersed in those routines. I remember waking up with infants in the middle of the night…and with four sons, that went on for years, cumulatively. If on any morning I were asked whether I would like someone to take on the 3:00 am duties, I would have eagerly accepted the offer. But looking back, I am happy to reflect on the “stuff” that I did, and I would be less happy now if I had “outsourced” it. Though I would have impulsively outsourced it if I were given a choice at the time.
Second, and perhaps not unrelated, you feel less “connected” to your own house. In the states, I was intimately familiar with the kitchen, and spent more waking time there than in any other room in the house. That is not true here, of course, where I do neither the cleaning nor cooking myself. And here is one of the consequences of that: Amnon had an Israeli friend over a few weeks ago, and I made them coffee. I often make an Israeli concoction referred to as “café mukszaf” – it’s just instant coffee, sugar, and few drops of water which you mix vigorously with a spoon for several minutes till the mixture gets thick and pale, and your wrists start to hurt. By infusing air into it with vigorous mixing, the coffee gets a layer of foam on top and actually tastes creamier. I proudly brought the coffee out to Amnon and our guest. Amnon took a sip….and discovered that I had inadvertently made the concoction with salt. (It was a white substance in an unmarked empty Nutella jar.) We all laughed, and I made more coffee for all….But I reflected on the significance of not actually knowing where the sugar is in your own kitchen.
Servants as a sub-class
I have commented to my colleagues that I think maids in India are treated a notch better than slaves; my colleagues have staunchly disagreed. They point out that maids now dictate their terms of employment much more than they did in the past, and there is a more equitable negotiation.
A few anecdotes, though, reinforce my view of profound inequalities.
Amnon was talking to one of the merchants in the marketplace. The merchant commented that it is inappropriate for household help to use a bathroom that is used by other members of the family. They are expected to use the bathroom that is in their servant area, if they are live-in maids. (And I don’t know which bathroom they are expected to use, if they aren’t live-in with a dedicated servant’s bathroom... For men in India, it is easier….One always sees men urinating in the streets against random walls….but I have never seen women using public spaces that way…) There are rationalizations for this…the merchant told Amnon that maids that live in slum areas can bring diseases into the house. I am reminded of driving down to Florida with my parents as a child. Somewhere in Georgia, I used a gas station bathroom, and saw that there was a door that said “white” and a door that said “colored.” It was horrifying to see this up close, even as a kid. And I would bet that black/white segregation had similar rationales…”it’s not that we are prejudiced, but this other class of people carries disease.”
Another tidbit on treating servants as a subclass comes from a Hindi phrasebook that Jordan was using. He pointed out the section to me that provides useful sentences for talking to servants. I include this below. I think the phrases, and the tone of those phrases, are very revealing about the expected relationship between employer and a servant employee.
A few anecdotes, though, reinforce my view of profound inequalities.
Amnon was talking to one of the merchants in the marketplace. The merchant commented that it is inappropriate for household help to use a bathroom that is used by other members of the family. They are expected to use the bathroom that is in their servant area, if they are live-in maids. (And I don’t know which bathroom they are expected to use, if they aren’t live-in with a dedicated servant’s bathroom... For men in India, it is easier….One always sees men urinating in the streets against random walls….but I have never seen women using public spaces that way…) There are rationalizations for this…the merchant told Amnon that maids that live in slum areas can bring diseases into the house. I am reminded of driving down to Florida with my parents as a child. Somewhere in Georgia, I used a gas station bathroom, and saw that there was a door that said “white” and a door that said “colored.” It was horrifying to see this up close, even as a kid. And I would bet that black/white segregation had similar rationales…”it’s not that we are prejudiced, but this other class of people carries disease.”
Another tidbit on treating servants as a subclass comes from a Hindi phrasebook that Jordan was using. He pointed out the section to me that provides useful sentences for talking to servants. I include this below. I think the phrases, and the tone of those phrases, are very revealing about the expected relationship between employer and a servant employee.
How to “make a difference” - - feeding people, or caring for animals
There are so many areas in India that can use a “boost,” and I would like to be able to do some small part of “making things better” while we are here. But where to begin?
I was doing an after lunch walk near the IBM Research facility, where a little “tent city” has sprung up. (I don’t know why homeless people congregate in one area vs. another. I know that clusters form in places where there is construction going on and a need for day laborers; but I don’t know what spawned this particular cluster.) I saw a baby girl – less than one year old – sitting half naked on the ground, playing with sticks and stones (and perfectly happy, I might add.) Her mother was 30 feet away, breaking bricks with a small tool. When she saw me sitting near her little girl, she walked over, and said “biscuits?” I went back to the IBM building, and bought 10 sleeves of cookies, and came back down. I began thinking that this little girl could be someone I could help; I would buy clothes for her the following day, etc. As I was walking over, 3 little boys emerged from the “tent city” and started walking with me. I gave them 3 sleeves of cookies. Suddenly 5 other children emerged. And the mother of the little girl from the beginning of this story walked toward me; I gave her the rest of the cookie sleeves. Now I had 5 children with nothing, and I was trying to tell the boys that had cookies to “share.” (I’m sure THAT suggestion was successful, if it was even understood.) I began walking back to IBM. Now, mothers were coming out and following me too. This model clearly wasn’t working….The best way to make one little girl your “target” for support is probably through one of those television ads in the US that say “for just pennies a day, you can help child X get medications and go to school” – you can focus on “just one” from a remote location, but once you are in situ, it isn’t possible.
When I got inside the gate at IBM, the 3 dogs that always hang around were there. Someone pointed out that dogs are territorial…so those are the 3 “IBM dogs,” and others will not invade their territory. I have been bringing food and treats for the dogs for the last couple of months. They have come to expect something whenever they see me, which is fine; and I try not to disappoint. But at least with animals, it’s a finite set.
I was doing an after lunch walk near the IBM Research facility, where a little “tent city” has sprung up. (I don’t know why homeless people congregate in one area vs. another. I know that clusters form in places where there is construction going on and a need for day laborers; but I don’t know what spawned this particular cluster.) I saw a baby girl – less than one year old – sitting half naked on the ground, playing with sticks and stones (and perfectly happy, I might add.) Her mother was 30 feet away, breaking bricks with a small tool. When she saw me sitting near her little girl, she walked over, and said “biscuits?” I went back to the IBM building, and bought 10 sleeves of cookies, and came back down. I began thinking that this little girl could be someone I could help; I would buy clothes for her the following day, etc. As I was walking over, 3 little boys emerged from the “tent city” and started walking with me. I gave them 3 sleeves of cookies. Suddenly 5 other children emerged. And the mother of the little girl from the beginning of this story walked toward me; I gave her the rest of the cookie sleeves. Now I had 5 children with nothing, and I was trying to tell the boys that had cookies to “share.” (I’m sure THAT suggestion was successful, if it was even understood.) I began walking back to IBM. Now, mothers were coming out and following me too. This model clearly wasn’t working….The best way to make one little girl your “target” for support is probably through one of those television ads in the US that say “for just pennies a day, you can help child X get medications and go to school” – you can focus on “just one” from a remote location, but once you are in situ, it isn’t possible.
When I got inside the gate at IBM, the 3 dogs that always hang around were there. Someone pointed out that dogs are territorial…so those are the 3 “IBM dogs,” and others will not invade their territory. I have been bringing food and treats for the dogs for the last couple of months. They have come to expect something whenever they see me, which is fine; and I try not to disappoint. But at least with animals, it’s a finite set.
Jewish stars and swastikas
There are lots of 6-sided stars in India, and also lots of swastikas, as ornaments, decorations for buildings, etc. My friend Lorraine pointed out before we came here that the 6-sided stars are not Jewish stars, and the swastikas are not Nazi symbols. I found the following background on wikipedia:
"....the "Star of David" originates in the writings of Aristotle, who used triangles in different positions to indicate the different basic elements. The superposed triangles thus represented combinations of those elements. From Aristotle's writings those symbols made their ways into early, pre-Muslim Arab literature."
"The swastika (Sanskrit: स्वास्तिक) is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing (卐) form or its mirrored left-facing (卍) form. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient India as well as Classical Antiquity. It remains widely used in Eastern religions, specifically in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism."
Nonetheless, it was jarring to see this box of sweets, decorated with a 6 sided star with a swastika at its center.
And amusing to see this, on Humayoon's Tomb; a Moghul emperor.
"....the "Star of David" originates in the writings of Aristotle, who used triangles in different positions to indicate the different basic elements. The superposed triangles thus represented combinations of those elements. From Aristotle's writings those symbols made their ways into early, pre-Muslim Arab literature."
"The swastika (Sanskrit: स्वास्तिक) is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing (卐) form or its mirrored left-facing (卍) form. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient India as well as Classical Antiquity. It remains widely used in Eastern religions, specifically in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism."
Nonetheless, it was jarring to see this box of sweets, decorated with a 6 sided star with a swastika at its center.
And amusing to see this, on Humayoon's Tomb; a Moghul emperor.
Still can’t understand the problem with clean water…
I remain perplexed about why the water supply here cannot be made clean and drinkable. Amnon recently got a hot water bottle to use when he has a back cramp. I include the wrapper for the bottle below. It indicates that you need to use filtered water in order to preserve the longevity of the rubber hot water bottle. I shake my head to think that the water from the tap can cause the rubber to disintegrate….what does it do to people’s stomachs, if they drink it unfiltered?
I have heard a number of explanations and hypotheses as to why this problem is intractable. I include a few of them here:
• When workers for various utilities dig up the streets to resolve some underground problem, there is no tracking about whether there are (say) fuel lines at a particular point. And if something gets punctured, there is no reporting structure, and so the pollutants end up running rampant and polluting the water supply.
• Water is not constantly available; it is delivered to a drum near your house only for a couple of hours a day, when the city releases water. The stagnant water in the drum then has all sorts of debris and particles. I asked why they can’t instead have a water supply that is flowing and constantly available. I was told that there was not sufficient water for a system like that given India’s population.
• Another theory: Building additional dams and reservoirs will consume space and resources of certain states; they will feel “put upon” and refuse to allow their state to bear the brunt so that other states benefit.
• And a final hypothesis I have heard: The purified water industry is now big business, selling purifiers, and bottled water, and they are a powerful lobby not to change the current system.
By the way....during my recent trip to NY, I was looking forward to drinking water from random water fountains and faucets once again. I came to my home base office in Yorktown Heights for meetings. And given the heavy snows, the note below was posted on the water fountains and coffee machines. What irony!
I have heard a number of explanations and hypotheses as to why this problem is intractable. I include a few of them here:
• When workers for various utilities dig up the streets to resolve some underground problem, there is no tracking about whether there are (say) fuel lines at a particular point. And if something gets punctured, there is no reporting structure, and so the pollutants end up running rampant and polluting the water supply.
• Water is not constantly available; it is delivered to a drum near your house only for a couple of hours a day, when the city releases water. The stagnant water in the drum then has all sorts of debris and particles. I asked why they can’t instead have a water supply that is flowing and constantly available. I was told that there was not sufficient water for a system like that given India’s population.
• Another theory: Building additional dams and reservoirs will consume space and resources of certain states; they will feel “put upon” and refuse to allow their state to bear the brunt so that other states benefit.
• And a final hypothesis I have heard: The purified water industry is now big business, selling purifiers, and bottled water, and they are a powerful lobby not to change the current system.
By the way....during my recent trip to NY, I was looking forward to drinking water from random water fountains and faucets once again. I came to my home base office in Yorktown Heights for meetings. And given the heavy snows, the note below was posted on the water fountains and coffee machines. What irony!
Travel to the US in January-February
I had a business trip to the US at the end of January, my first trip outside of India since July. There was so much to look forward to. I was traveling to the AVIOS-sponsored Mobile Voice conference in San Jose. AVIOS and the speech technology applications community are now my dear friends and extended family; I have been on the AVIOS Board since Jesse was born (and he is now 18 years old…) So this was an opportunity to update and get updated about speech technology innovations. From there, I traveled to NY, where I met with a number of IBM executives to start career plans for when I conclude my India assignment in summer 2011. NY allowed opportunities for me to meet my actual family. My brother Jerry flew up from Florida so we could be together on the weekend. Evenings allowed me to see many other family and friends for dinner. Amnon was also in NY for part of the time.
First stop, San Jose. Many contrasts to New Delhi. The air was clear and fresh. The pavement was smooth and you could walk on the sidewalks. Streetlights with light-crossing buttons at every corner. Trash bins were plentiful. If there were homeless people on the street, they were mentally ill. Let me comment point by point.
- The air quality differences don’t need to be discussed further….
- The pavement - - It is hard to walk on sidewalks in many areas in Delhi. Pavement is broken, or discontinuous, and you end up walking in the streets (but with zooming traffic, this isn’t pleasant either.)
- Across from the hotel in San Jose, there was a multi-lane major cross-section. The sort of street you would be terrified to cross in New Delhi. But with a single push of a button, the light turned green for pedestrians, traffic stopped, and I ambled across the street.
- Trash bins, everywhere. What a treat! I had tissues in my pocket; I sneezed, and discarded the tissues rather than keeping them with me for the rest of my walk. The streets were free from debris - - perhaps in part because of the frequency of trash bins?
- Homeless people are pervasive in warmer climates like San Jose, since it’s a “nicer place to be” if you have to live on the streets than NYC. Most of the homeless people I came across, though, seemed mentally ill. This is horrifying, but also more easily “digestible” than seeing (for example) homeless families with young children living on the street. I can appreciate that someone mentally ill cannot in many cases live with his own family. If he is placed in a shelter, his mental illness might cause him to prefer the street; and short of incarceration, it might not be possible to “harness” him. This differs from what I see in Delhi all the time - - entire homeless families, mentally intact, sleeping under a “flyover” (bridge).
First stop, San Jose. Many contrasts to New Delhi. The air was clear and fresh. The pavement was smooth and you could walk on the sidewalks. Streetlights with light-crossing buttons at every corner. Trash bins were plentiful. If there were homeless people on the street, they were mentally ill. Let me comment point by point.
- The air quality differences don’t need to be discussed further….
- The pavement - - It is hard to walk on sidewalks in many areas in Delhi. Pavement is broken, or discontinuous, and you end up walking in the streets (but with zooming traffic, this isn’t pleasant either.)
- Across from the hotel in San Jose, there was a multi-lane major cross-section. The sort of street you would be terrified to cross in New Delhi. But with a single push of a button, the light turned green for pedestrians, traffic stopped, and I ambled across the street.
- Trash bins, everywhere. What a treat! I had tissues in my pocket; I sneezed, and discarded the tissues rather than keeping them with me for the rest of my walk. The streets were free from debris - - perhaps in part because of the frequency of trash bins?
- Homeless people are pervasive in warmer climates like San Jose, since it’s a “nicer place to be” if you have to live on the streets than NYC. Most of the homeless people I came across, though, seemed mentally ill. This is horrifying, but also more easily “digestible” than seeing (for example) homeless families with young children living on the street. I can appreciate that someone mentally ill cannot in many cases live with his own family. If he is placed in a shelter, his mental illness might cause him to prefer the street; and short of incarceration, it might not be possible to “harness” him. This differs from what I see in Delhi all the time - - entire homeless families, mentally intact, sleeping under a “flyover” (bridge).
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