Life beautiful

My maid Madhavi had gone home to her village during Christmas on a week’s leave. She works as a maid in five flats in our block. Before leaving she deputed two ladies to work as her replacement during her absence and introduced the ladies to her employers. However she failed to turn up on the day she was expected to return. On enquiry it was found that she was camping at her daughter’s house in a nearby village as her husband had driven her out of their house. It must have been a major fight between the couple who were otherwise known to be quite a model couple in their wretched surroundings where wife beating by drunken men was quite common. Her employers were shocked .The ladies were angry. How dare her husband treat the poor woman in this manner? There were animated discussions on the plight of women in our society. Madhavi was persuaded by one of her employers to come back to Kolkata . She agreed to do so provided she had a place to stay in the apartment. For urban ladies used to the luxury of having maids around getting the maid back at any cost was topmost priority. So Madhavi returned and started her new life .She started wearing a long maxi dress instead of the saree she usually wrapped around her elegant body when she came to work in the mornings. The dress was given to her by her host. She could not care less because nobody was noticing her and her body was covered with a warm shawl additionally to beat the morning chill.


She was ok for three days occasionally calling up her son-in-law to find out about her hubby’s whereabouts. But she looked depressed. On the fourth day she decided to go back to her home in the city in the afternoon when her husband was away. She was pleased to find her home in pristine condition. A dignified lady she had not informed her neighbours the real reason of her absence from home. Her husband similarly had some other excuse to offer to their curious neighbours. She returned to the block and did her usual chores in the five flats. That evening she quietly informed her host that she was leaving and going back to her home. Next morning she was back at work wearing her normal saree, scarf and shawl looking calm and content. She smiled shyly when asked about the current state of her relationship with her husband.