Ode to Ammu

Today Ammu did not come. I returned home to an unkempt house, a sink full of dirty vessels, a washer full of soiled clothes and dustbins overflowing with waste! As though the office and the traffic were not enough to ruin my happiness, Ammu just had to add her touch.

In case, my above para was ambiguous on Ammu’s identity, I would like to introduce Ammu, my domestic help. Ammu is a middle aged lady with four children. Her eldest is thirteen and her youngest is three. Her husband is a work shirker, he just drinks and makes merry. Her children intermittently go to school, that is whenever they feel that the weather is conducive to go to school, they go. Otherwise they vegetate at home, go to the neighborhood rowdy clubs or get beaten by their dad. Ammu gets beaten by that dad too and oftentimes comes to work with a scar, a burn or a bruise. Ammu is a good worker, though she is irregular with her time. Sometimes she turns up at 9 am, sometimes at 6 pm, that large is her range. And all the families she works for scold her, shout at her, but have not got rid of her. That itself speaks volumes of her work quality and dedication. She is the sole breadwinner of her family and tries hard to put food on the table.

I have handed over the reins of my home empire to Ammu. She comes when she pleases, as many times she pleases and does what she pleases.  She eats the food we keep for her without a word. Sometimes she asks for a little more and I am sure, that is the only food she would have eaten the whole day.

I respect Ammu, she is my ideal. She is the living breathing example of a super woman. She has a career , she is sincere about. She reasons with her children to force them to go to school. When they do not listen, she drops them to the school gate. Those days she is late to work. She is quick to apologize to her clients for the delay. And those days she does that extra bit around the house which ensures that the irritation her clients feel just evaporates. She has accepted her fate- her husband will not support her rather will squander her money. Her children use up a lot of her energy. In spite of all deterrents in her life, she goes on, smiling, undefeated, high-spirited. Her resilience is truly admirable.

I hate her when she bunks without information. I hate her when we need to keep waiting for her to turn up. I hate her when she says she will do the dusting tomorrow. But I love her when she comes super late and tells me that she had to hunt her teenage son down from a slum where he had disappeared after a fight with his father. I love her as she breaks into tears when talking about how she went to the doctor to get her son’s finger amputated which had got caught in a machine. I love her when she swallows her spit and drinks water to quell her hunger unsuccessfully and then shyly asks if there is any leftover food. I love her when she brings her three year old daughter to work and puts her to sleep on the kitchen floor while she works. I love her when she takes more initiative than defined in her job offer and does not ask anything in return.

God be with Ammu! May her tribe increase.