Mala gets pregnant - Part 1
When I came to Bangalore, I stayed in a paying guest house for fifteen days, but after that, the company arranged a flat for me to live in. My flat is on the tenth floor of a multi-storey building and it has a living room, a bedroom, a small storage room, a kitchen and a bathroom. I mostly use the living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. In the small storage room, there is a folding cot, two empty briefcases and some unnecessary stuff, etc. After shifting to that flat, I faced problems with food and house maintenance. I hired a fifty-year-old woman working in another flat of the same building to do the housework. That woman, whom everyone called Amma, would come at six in the morning. After giving me tea, she would do the household chores and cook breakfast for me. After I got ready and went to the office, she would finish her work in the other flat. Then, she would clean my house, wash my clothes and hang them out to dry since she used to do the housework till, I went to the office. For her convenience, I had given her a key to my flat. She used to give the washed clothes to the washerman for ironing before I came home in the evening, and as soon as I came home, she used to make tea for me, and after cooking my dinner, she used to go to her house. Because I was getting a good salary, I used to pay that old lady five thousand rupees per month for her work. Due to this, she used to do my work very diligently and honestly. After working diligently for about six months, one day, that old lady said to me – Sahib, my youngest daughter-in-law is going to have a child, so I will have to go to her for three to four months. You can hire another maid for the work, or if you agree, I will put my middle daughter-in-law to work at your place. Hearing her words, I was shocked for a moment. But controlling myself, I said- Amma, what are you saying. You know all the work of my house very well and have taken care of it very skilfully. If you do not come, how will my work be done? From where will I find another maid? Why don’t you send your middle daughter-in-law to the younger daughter-in-law instead of yourself? Hearing my words, she said- Sahib, this is a matter of taking care of the mother and child, not about going on a trip. Girls of today cannot do any such work. Also, a girl who has not become a mother herself will not know what a mother should eat and drink during pregnancy. She does not even know what to do at the time of delivery. After listening to her, I said- Amma, make whatever arrangement you think is right. Will your middle daughter-in-law do all the household work that you do? After listening to me, Amma said- Don’t worry, you will not have any problem. I will bring her with me every day, two weeks before leaving, and will teach her all the household work in those two weeks. In the second week of that month, when Amma came to work at 6 am as usual, she brought her middle daughter-in-law, Mala, along with her. Mala was a very beautiful and attractive woman. A complexion, slim body, tall height, raised breasts, prominent buttocks of medium size, long neck and flat stomach. She had covered her entire body in a green cotton saree. As soon as she entered the house, she saw me reading the newspaper in the drawing room and greeted me with folded hands. As soon as I replied to her greeting, Amma said- Sahib, this is my middle daughter-in-law, Mala, about whom I had talked to you. Now for two weeks she will come with me every day and will learn all the work here, so that after two weeks, when I leave. She will do all the work as per your expectations. In reply, I said- Okay, Amma, explain to her properly about my preferences and all the requirements and also teach her what to do and how to do it! After that, I started reading the newspaper. Both of them went to the kitchen and got busy with cooking, washing utensils and cleaning, etc. At about seven o’clock, as usual, Amma gave me tea and said, “Sahib, I will be going to Choti Bahu on the 30th of this month, so if I get my monthly salary tomorrow, I will be able to do the shopping I want to do.” I replied, “Oh, Amma, what’s the big deal in this? Why tomorrow, you can buy it today itself.” Then Amma said one more thing- Sahib, my middle son works in Dubai, so the middle daughter-in-law lives with me. After I leave, she will be left alone, and the colony in which we live is not at all safe for a single woman. Therefore, after my departure, I will be worried about the safety of the middle daughter-in-law. After listening to Amma, I said- You rent a good house for her in some other safe colony. She said- I have been looking for a place for her for the last two months, but I have not found any safe place yet. Even if there is any, it is very far away or it is a place that is built illegally and can be demolished anytime. I said- Amma, I understand your problem, but how can I help you in this regard? Amma immediately said- Sahib, you are the one who can help the most. If you allow Mala to stay in the store room of this house till I return, then you cannot do me a bigger favour than this. For this, you can certainly deduct as much as you want from our salary, but please give shelter to a helpless person. I was surprised at her request and said- Amma, what are you saying? It is not right for a married woman to live with an unmarried man in his house. What will the neighbours and the rest of the people in the building say? Amma said- What about the people, they will keep saying whatever comes to their mind. I have great faith in you, and if Mala stays in this house, you will not have any trouble. All your work will be done according to your needs in a timely manner. I hope that you will not refuse to keep this in mind. I don’t know why I felt sorry for them after hearing Amma’s words, and I told her- Okay, Amma, do this, you bring all your and Mala’s belongings and come here today itself.