Maya

In 2018 I left my childhood home and moved to a different part of the city. When we settled at our new home, we appointed a young woman called Maya to be our cook.

Maya came from a working class family. Her mother worked with a food catering service as a cook. Her father was working at a grocery shop. Her husband worked with an interior decorator as a carpenter. She worked as a home cook with various families. Maybe it was her background of service industry which made her humble and polite.

Maya started working at our home. Her first point of contact in our home was my mother. She would speak politely and respectfully with everyone including my young nephew who was 1 year old at that time. She was obedient too. She would dutifully complete her work and leave. Unlike other house helps or cooks she would not indulge in gossip.

One day we came to know that Maya's birthday falls on the same day as my birthday. She was just two years older to me. It made a really special connection between me and Maya.

In 2019 my mother underwent a surgery. She was required to get complete bed rest for the next 2 to 3 months. During this period Maya's work in our home increased. We asked her to come to our home twice in a day to make lunch and dinner. Maya wilfully agreed to this request. She would come everyday in the afternoon and in the evening to come and cook. At the end of the month my father offered her twice of her salary because she had been coming twice a day doing twice the work that was earlier promise to her. But she declined to take that money. She said that she worked to help our family and she was not expecting anything in return. She did not take the payment from my dad so my mother pitched in and convinced her to take the money that was being offered.

Next few months were seamless because of Maya's hardwork and effort. During these months Maya told me something that one could have shared only with their close friend. She told me about the hurdle she was facing with starting a new family. She had been married for over 7 years. Yet they were not able to conceive. They visited a lot of doctors and fertility clinics. The conclusion was that she had cysts because of which conception became difficult. She had shown me those reports and medicines because she knew that I am from medical field. When she had shown me those reports she was little scared. With fear in her eyes she asked me, "will I ever become a mother?" I reassured her that with treatment and the course she would be able to conceive.

Few months later in March 2020 the lockdown began. During that period, we had asked Maya to not come to our home. In July 2020 Maya gave a call to my mother to tell that she would be moving to her native place. Maya and her husband had decided to leave their life from the Metro city and move back to their native village where the living was cost effective, the air was not polluted, and life was quieter. That was the last time when we heard anything from Maya.

I really hope that she is happy wherever she is because she deserves that happiness.