I currently reside in a famous city in North India which happens to be a capital. Me and a few of my friends went out to dinner the other night to celebrate one of our mates success in his exams.
We went to this Chinese restaurant recommended by a mutual friend. I kind of liked the ambience of the place. We went about ordering some soups and chinese starters amidst our usual jibber jabber. My friend was reliving his exam time, with me trying to amuse him by reminding him how terrified he was about his exam. It was going on well until a family of 6 entered the restaurant.
This rich family by the looks of it consisted of a man in his late 60s, an obese woman in her 60s too, two middle aged couple and a cute girl around 5-6 years old. They made themselves comfortable at a table near us. There was another person accompanying them who distinctly stood out among the group. She was around 12-13 years. Her skin tone didn't match the rest of the group and neither did her clothes. I had a feeling she didn't belong in the family. She was carrying a small bag. What hit me most was the vacant stare on her face. She remained standing while the rest of the group sat down. The middle aged female from the group signaled her to sit on a chair and she promptly obliged.
Who was she? Why did she appear so sad? Why was she staring at either the ceiling or the floor of the hotel? Why wasn't she chatting with the other members in the group? Her hair was straight but dry and set in a ponytail. She was wearing a dark maroon churidar with non matching flip flops. No hint of jewellery on her body. She appeared undernourished. She had nothing apart from that vacant stare and sad look.
A few of my questions were answered in the next half an hour. I came to realise that this girl was a housemaid whose sole purpose in the hotel appeared to be to take care of the 5 year old child and make sure that this child doesn't feel uncomfortable and most importantly doesn't trouble her biological parents who want to have some quality time. This 12 year old girl's entire life revolved around this child. She was feeding her making sure not to dirty the child's clothes, taking the kid to the washroom, wiping dirt off the child's t-shirt, while the rest of the "family" enjoyed their time together.
I had the most gut wrenching feeling of disgust I had ever experienced in my life by the time we left this hotel. Over the next few weeks I was constantly haunted by my experience. And to my surprise this incident was not a one off. It happens everywhere. In theatres, In parks, In malls etc. When I looked around these places I found atleast 1 family with a girl in her early teens who was a housemaid and moved around like a zombie following orders.
Is this Bonded labour in 21st century India. I definitely think so. This is modern day slavery and its disgusting. And what is more disgusting is the fact that educated Indians from the affluent class are partaking
in this heinous and downright shameful practice. By the information I gathered this practice is quite rampant. Poor families from rural areas have their kids "lent" by these rich people to take care of their offspring. The money they get in return is supposedly what gets these poor families to sustain their livelihood. But this is just so wrong.
I want to do something about this. I don't know what or how to go about it. But I certainly want to do something about it. Creating awareness is one of the things.
I encourage my fellow readers to please do the same. Not because we can bring a smile on some little girl's face or because we are heroes. Just do it because it is the right thing to do.
We went to this Chinese restaurant recommended by a mutual friend. I kind of liked the ambience of the place. We went about ordering some soups and chinese starters amidst our usual jibber jabber. My friend was reliving his exam time, with me trying to amuse him by reminding him how terrified he was about his exam. It was going on well until a family of 6 entered the restaurant.
This rich family by the looks of it consisted of a man in his late 60s, an obese woman in her 60s too, two middle aged couple and a cute girl around 5-6 years old. They made themselves comfortable at a table near us. There was another person accompanying them who distinctly stood out among the group. She was around 12-13 years. Her skin tone didn't match the rest of the group and neither did her clothes. I had a feeling she didn't belong in the family. She was carrying a small bag. What hit me most was the vacant stare on her face. She remained standing while the rest of the group sat down. The middle aged female from the group signaled her to sit on a chair and she promptly obliged.
Who was she? Why did she appear so sad? Why was she staring at either the ceiling or the floor of the hotel? Why wasn't she chatting with the other members in the group? Her hair was straight but dry and set in a ponytail. She was wearing a dark maroon churidar with non matching flip flops. No hint of jewellery on her body. She appeared undernourished. She had nothing apart from that vacant stare and sad look.
A few of my questions were answered in the next half an hour. I came to realise that this girl was a housemaid whose sole purpose in the hotel appeared to be to take care of the 5 year old child and make sure that this child doesn't feel uncomfortable and most importantly doesn't trouble her biological parents who want to have some quality time. This 12 year old girl's entire life revolved around this child. She was feeding her making sure not to dirty the child's clothes, taking the kid to the washroom, wiping dirt off the child's t-shirt, while the rest of the "family" enjoyed their time together.
I had the most gut wrenching feeling of disgust I had ever experienced in my life by the time we left this hotel. Over the next few weeks I was constantly haunted by my experience. And to my surprise this incident was not a one off. It happens everywhere. In theatres, In parks, In malls etc. When I looked around these places I found atleast 1 family with a girl in her early teens who was a housemaid and moved around like a zombie following orders.
Is this Bonded labour in 21st century India. I definitely think so. This is modern day slavery and its disgusting. And what is more disgusting is the fact that educated Indians from the affluent class are partaking
in this heinous and downright shameful practice. By the information I gathered this practice is quite rampant. Poor families from rural areas have their kids "lent" by these rich people to take care of their offspring. The money they get in return is supposedly what gets these poor families to sustain their livelihood. But this is just so wrong.
I want to do something about this. I don't know what or how to go about it. But I certainly want to do something about it. Creating awareness is one of the things.
I encourage my fellow readers to please do the same. Not because we can bring a smile on some little girl's face or because we are heroes. Just do it because it is the right thing to do.
