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The Super WOH-man !

“Oh …. Women.. !!” And she nodded in a “are crazy” way! Well indeed we are — as crazy as every next one on this Earth unless you prove otherwise. For me that day, I couldn’t spare a proof — our house was full of unpacked boxes over 50% of which had my name on them ! And wait .. 50% of the rest of them were in the Indian kitchen — we were about to set up! My first ever Portuguese WOH’s weren’t the only hands helping us that day, we had an extra pair of little ones making their way to our smiles and amusement through our 8-yrs-packed-in-100-boxes bonanza spread through out our new nest! This 5 month old was my only friend in that totally-foreign-to-me part of this world. She would come in everyday with her mother.. (like for 2 months already now ) and make me cheerful .. no matter what ! May be a little area to crawl around or a little TV or in worst times — her mothers empty arm while the other vacuumed.. was enough to keep this one no-fuss-smiley-delight kind of a baby happy! While thi...
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The WOH vacations!

The yet-to-be-published Thai WOH-code says ‘ I am entitled to flying back home or using that as a reason to be absent from work for a sum of 2–3 months per year or 6 months depending upon the nature of work or payment at my employer with upto 0 months notice depending upon mine and employers luck!’ .. and it is followed to the T!! Once you get such a trailer, and believe me everyone of my kind will get it at least once in a lifetime — you should be sure that it definitely is a thriller — comedy or tragedy you will never find out!! Whatever the climax is — most of us find ourselves back in the vicious dating circle — blind dates, likes and dislikes, gives and takes, sacrifices and eventually either we could engage the so-called perfect-for-me WOH or breakup!! Well there is another kind of thrill too. One sunny day, you are surprised when your mobile flashes a long lost acquaintance’s call — and deep down inside you know that at some point in the conversation it’s destined to happen — ye...

WOH kaun thi?

WOH#1was a brand new import by her younger sisters to this city of angels! She had a unique untamed-countryside charm — fair and clear skin, dark hair, healthily plump and absolutely no word of english !! “ Bhabhi, ye meri behen hai .. bahut achhi hai .. abhi abhi aayi hai Burma se .. kabhi kaam nahi kiya kisi ke ghar.. magar aap seekha doge to seekh jaayegi …“ “Hindi aati hai kya inhe?” “Thora thora aata hai .. jyada nahi .. Wo humare Burma me hindi picture dekhi hai na isliye .. thora Thora aata hai” “ Achhaa! khana banana aata hai?” “Thora thora aata hai” “Roti banate ho?” “ thori banayi hai 1–2 baar” “Ohhh” “ Bhabhi, aise to kahi kaam nahi kiya hai meri didi ne magar bachhe to hai na inka .. achha poora parivar hai .. to Khaana to banati thi .. sab karna aata hai .. bass Indian Khaana aap bata dena.. Yaha nayi hai na” “ ok .. par jaldi seekh jaenge ?” “ Haan Bhabhi” “Ok .. thik hai kabse aa sakte ho? Aaj aa jao shaam tak?” Look at me .. not ready to waste a single day !! “akele nah...

The Beauty Queen!

Truth is stranger than fiction! .. but I’d still prefer fiction - lesser nightmarish.  Also ‘Truth’ is with what this young WOH entered our lives - even if not ..  we still want to believe so! Ok then.. while we were still coping up with the described-in-last-episode betrayal  .. it wasn’t easy for us to trust anyone! But we so wanted to .. especially this smiling and youthful WOH we had just hired.  Like every desi girl in her 20s .. this Bollywood fanatic was in search of her knight in shining armour! She was this Simran looking out for her Raj, the pooja who believed in ‘koi na koi to hain, jo mere liye bana hai’ and the Rahul ki maya - the dreamy deewani (read crazy) whose only aim in life was to look good and find that someone special and dance through .. well wait I dont know if she could dance .. mmm. “XXXX hum YYYY movie dekh rahe hai .. tumhe dekhani hai ? Aajao ..” “*nahi Bhabhi ye to Maine dekh li “* “Achha” .... “ nayi movie release hui hai Yaha Bangkok m...

The Run-away WOH

“Darwaza to kamse kam smilingly khole”; “1 Din chutti matlab only 1breakfast +1 lunch + 1 dinner off ..”; Were, now, some of the addendums to our WOH-selection-policy. Congruent to these requirements, we met and hired an amicable WOH who wouldn’t cook so well but would always be very welcoming. We were happily greeted by this short, light-skinned, hair always tied up in a bun, wearing-a-smile kind of face, when home and so were our guests.  Cleaning and tidying up the house was her forte, even if that meant a risky climb out the window. As most Burmese (with Nepali roots) who come to Thailand for work need to do , she left her 3-month old daughter with her mother-in-law to live and work with us.  *”Bhabhi uske bhavishya ke liye to karna padega na”*. No matter where you go, this ‘Mom’ creature is no different.  I remember, once while discussing our respective moms,  me and my Asian-Australian friend found out that they (our living-2-continents-away-moms) threw exactly...

The Mahalon ki Rani.

When we, me n my Dear Husband (DH), were desperately looking for a WOH having moved to a bigger 2-bedroom, this lady was referred by a wife-of-husbands-friend-becomes-your-friend with a hire-at-your-own-risk disclaimer. ‘Milne aa jao, achhe se baat karte hai’ “ Ji Bhabhi aati hu ” It’s hard to say what was scarier — interviewing a stranger to live with us or cleaning the apartment ourselves. “ Haan Bhabhi sab aata hai banana — roti b banati thi  ” … basssss .. “ab rulaegi kya pagali”!! Getting a WOH who could make desi Khaana including the hot-flat-circular-dollops-of-ghee-on-top kinda delights in pardes was overwhelming. And that was the end of discussion .. She was on-board ! “Abhi 8 baje hai Bhabhi .. 10 baje tak aa jaungi samaan leke” Its fascinating how these Burmese immigrants learn foreign languages like Hindi and Thai so quickly ! “Jaldi aana .. jaldi uthana padega na tumhe .. chai nashta aur tiffin sab banana hai “… was me securing my immediate future (read raat ki neend-S...

The Ideal Relationship.

Before I ventured on this journey with a full time WOH .. for a brief period I would ask our apartment staff to help twice a week You know .. clean-wash-iron and stuff. Though in her 50s, she looked no more than 30. This short yet stout WOH was a perfect picture of the ‘land of smiles’. However she was different from the crowd. If you have been to Thailand, u would know what I mean by ‘Crowd’ – petite figure, colourful dresses, every strand of hair well-set and law-abiding, every inch of face a branded colour-palette and surreal eye colours, although very welcoming. Plus she was a perfectionist – Every nook and corner of our house looked like a 5-star hotel room post her cleaning session ; our clothes smelled of a new flower every time she washed them ! It was magical – from my kitchen counter to my wardrobes .. Tip-top ! One-of-a-kind OCD, every week her quest-for-best seemed amplified and so did our electricity bills. Either she had a vision issue or she wanted to clean the smallest ...