Dada, didi, cha?

We have a bit of a confession to make. Our stay here in india is not as rough as some of you may think and is in some ways quite colonial. You see we are very well looked after by Konica,  the housekeeper of Shubhro and Elisabeth.

She has worked for the different medical superintendents here since she was a child and is now in her middle age. She speaks very little english but is very keen to help us with or Bengali. She is an exceptional cook and tries very hard to make things that we like. (She knows that I like her tomato relish and neil likes chipati).

Today because Shubhro and Elisabeth are away visiting the bishop she made us some mashed potato and chicken. It was odd having food without any spice in it having gotten used to indian food. In india you never really address someone by their name instead using some other term. Konica calls neil dada or big brother and me didi or big sister. Even though she is our elder she feels she has to use a term indicating respect. This took some gettig used to. We are becoming accustomed to having lots of things done for us that we are not sure how we are going to cope without her at home. Having someone asking you if you would like tea at various points throughout the day is a true luxury!

Elisabeth says that when Shubhro became medical superintendent that she didn't feel that she needed a housekeeper but to deprive her of her income would be cruel. Konica has something that many people in the area would be lucky to have; stable employment. Much of the work is dependant on the rains and many families go hungry when there isn't work. Its a big part of indian culture that rich people employ staff to give work to those less fortunate.

In india labour is astonishingly cheap. A nurses income from the night shift is less than I spent on a box of cereal today. The grass is cut by many people with blades rather than one man and a lawnmower. To have konica as a cook seems frivilous to British people, but here it is an essential means of employment.

Jenni and Neil