The despicable beef eaters

So earlier this year, we were looking for a babysitter - an ex army man or a retired police constable who can take care of the 7 and 3 year old boys while also taking care of their own mental sanity. Honestly I did not mind employing a ring master who had the patience to keep them safe and engaged by teaching them to jump through a hoop or do a headstand . Just somebody who can keep the children disciplined – that was the only requirement, at a point ! It was at that time that Tulsi introduced Durga-bhai to us. Durga-bhai! - who looked like a Shimla apple. She hailed from Nepal , but lived in the city with her husband and had 3 children, the younger two were in their teens and the elder daughter is married off and had a daughter too – all of them were back in Nepal. She was in her early thirties and her daughter is in her twenty’s and neither of these women have attended schools , she said. The numbers did not tally, but that shouldn’t be my worry if it is not hers and thus I left it at that. That is all we knew about her. But the rest was shown in her work – the children wait for Durga-bhai to come to work everyday – that says it all. Durga-bhai was purely loyal and extremely committed - to the children and to us. Little did I know that the solution to my problems can be a four feet figure from across the Himalayas.

Durga-bhai was pleased with us too – for I tell our neighbours that she is our children’s nani* - I never corrected her by saying that I introduce her as nanny and not *nani . Ignorance is so blissful sometimes ; whoever experiencing that occasional state of bliss - by audaciously staying away from textbooks - earns it, and thus deserve it – I should not be snatching it from them by imparting that extra knowledge – nobody gains from it , neither I nor her . By staying that way, I was giving her work some extra dignity too.

Days thus passed and came winter – the most dreadful times - when the sun barely grins, floors are cold, water in pipes colder and clothing are of multiple layers and the air always damp. The big brother and the little brother had started to take turns in falling sick so that no two was alright at the same time. Taking care of them while also doing office work from home is the most terrible chore for a working mother. I thus make only easily digestible (read as ‘bland’) food for the boys. They are never anyway great fans of my culinary skills, but I make up for that by serving a good dose of hunger with every meal. Since the care-takers need extra care, on such days I have made arrangements to get my lunch delivered at home - one good lunch a day keeps the gloom away - doesn’t it ? Ok, on one such day, came 3 o’ clock and Durga-bhai entered with my lunch (she must have met the delivery man on the way) . She came and checked on the boys, and finding them to be fixated on the television, headed to the kitchen to brew her full milk tea and started to speak nonchalantly – we never get to talk on days that I go to work. Durga-bhai was happy to work in my household, she confided and pressed on my food parcel. But she has to travel to Nepal after 3 months , taking a 2 month break from work, for that is when they do Puja for Devi, Devatha and Purvaj* . Her Purvaj* apparently appeared in her dreams regularly and put forth their needs in front of her. And during the Puja break, she enters into a trance – do all that is needed for the deities and ancestors and they do not supposedly trouble her for the rest of the year. That is her story! – to each their won. But she loved to work for us, she reiterated while continuing to tinker with my food, as her ancestors seem pleased too – no complaints from them so far - for we are Hindus and I have photos of Hindu deities adorning my walls which makes her feel secure for she is a Hindu too . She recalled what happened while working with a Muslim household soon after she came to the city. She thought it was alright to work with them, but the ancestors!, they were not happy and were complaining to her every other night. But she continued for some more time as nobody else was giving her work. And the vengeful ancestors, they entered her body as a chronic headache – all because Muslims eat the sacred cows, she spoke with the confidence of a 5-year-old. Cows are sacred indeed!, for the Hindu holy books consider them as sacred. And they providing milk for human consumption, is a bonus. The sacrifice of cows is holier considering that the milk is actually meant for it’s own calf but still the cows willingly provide it for human consumption (sic). While facts , logic and Hinduttva were all in disagreement – I decided to remain silent, both because I was extremely hungry and because the woman’s logic was favoring me . Finally when I grabbed the food package , I swiftly took it to the kitchen, not just because I was extremely hungry , but also because I was worried - what if the ancestors make my food come alive , for it would have then instantly cried Moo!