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 same dialogues (especially life-lessons) at multiple instances as if they went to the same ‘mummy-school’. And I am sure, this WOH, who never went to any school, would do too.

Soft spoken yet talkative, she would always be found on call, just like every other WOH of her clan. From ‘kyunki’s Saans... to her own ‘Saans’ they talked about everything on earth on their multi-lateral conference calls for hours!

“Din bhar phone chalu rehta hai tumhara, bill nahi aata?”

*”Bhabhi, har mahine koi ek unlimited calls wala recharge kar leta hai aur Wo hi call karta hai fir sabko”*

Smarty pants!!! 

Well this was before smartphones. 

Then came the ‘*Bhabhi Wi-fi ka password daal do!*’ Era. Few years later was ‘brain-ke-liye-acha-nahi-hota-na-mobile’ wave that led to their investments on ‘handsfree’. This also gave 

‘them’- freedom to talk while work.

But ‘Us’- a headache

from ‘din-bhar ki chakar-chakar’ in their like-hindi-but-totally-bouncy language.

And believe me, they are greater hindi-movie and K-Ekta-drama buffs than we are. What  good can a wi-fi and access to free video-hosting banned-in-india-not-abroad sites do?

But this WOH was a real gentle soul. 

When my toddler nephew n niece came over for a holiday, she would happily watch them while we went out shopping. Unlike the universal-WOH-Norms, she would actually play and be friends with them.

As a good-will gesture ,we offered her (too) to work for our staying-one-floor-up friend in the empty hours during the day so she could earn a few extra bucks.

A perfect picture .. isn’t it ? 

The answer is NOT .. wait for it .. AT ALL. This is the WOH who actually went on a day-off never to return .. her clothes and stuff were still lying at our house ... replaced SIM card .. and absolutely no clue of where she can be. 

A little earlier, post her happy-babysitting-stunt, this WOH had proposed a threat .. 

“*Bhabhi meri MIL Burma jaa rahi hai to mujhe waapis ghar jaana padega, mera pati ko khana bhi banana nahi aaata”*

“kitna door hai tumhara ghar ?”..

“*Near xxxx” ..*

“to aisa kar sakti ho ki din me1-2 ghante chali jaaya karo?” .. 

“*nahi Bhabhi mujhe meri beti ko bhi Burma bhejna padega lekin mere paas paise nahi hai utane”*

.. “ohh to salary badha dete hai tumhari” we really tried hard to not let her go.. ... 

2 days later she agreed and stayed back and ours was a happy paradise for 2 months until this D-Day.

Did she ever really go home to cook is still a mystery !! 

When this run-away WOH did neither return My calls nor herself for next 2 days . .. I somehow managed, after incessant tries at calling, to get her sister to, at the least, answer my call and threatened her to involve police, if we couldn’t find out her whereabouts.

Within an hour the WOH-ki-Sister called me up and gave me a super cool story about what exactly happened. 

“*Bhabhi ... Uska aur uske Pati ka jhagada ho gaya hai .. uske pati ne usko bahut maara hai to Wo gusse me ghar chhodke Burma waapis chali Gayi hai isliye uska number band hai ‘“... *

“aur uski Beti ??”

.. “*Haan Wo beti ko le kar gayi hai’...*.  

“but Wo to chutti leke beti ka passport apply karne gayi thi na”

??#%#%#??  Beeep beeep beep ...  

4 days later I get a call .. 

*“aapko maid ki jaroorat hai na ... Wo aapki purani maid ne mujhe aapka no. Diya uski beti bimar hai na to Wo nahi aa sakti isliye mujhe bola hai aapse baat karne ko”*

??#%#%#?? .. looks like my missing WOH is now repenting .. 

Then in a week I received 2 other calls - with the same reference and follow up stories  ...

“*uski beti ko bharti kiya hain na hospital me” *

and 

“*Haan uski beti to Bachpan se hi kamjor hai na”*

Another week of the chores-office drama, now it was high-time we respond. Hence, we invited one of the potential WOH from her references to discuss further.  

“*Bhabhi uski beti xxxx hospital me hai .. Haan uska no change hua hai .. ye raha uska naya no.” *

This piece of info is the only thing that we wanted and she possessed !

When we tried the number a lot of times thinking to offer her financial help if she is really in trouble and got no answer ,we tried visiting the aforementioned hospital but to no avail.

Next try at interviewing one other reference.. a young, about 23 yr old girl, we couldn’t contain our resentment.

After a lot of pestering, logical reasoning and catching her tongue-in cheek answers,  there came a whole different story which till date is the last claim to truth 🤪

“*Bhabhi usne sach bolna chahiye na .. mujhe to Jooth bolna achha nahi lagata “*

“to abb tum sach bata do, .. hum kisi ko nahi baatyenge”

*”achha... Wo Bhabhi usko naya kaam mil gaya tha, waha sirf saaf-safai karni hai , 2 aur ladkiyan hai waha, aur uske ghar ke paas hi hai Wo kaam isliye usne aapke ghar ka chhoda, lekin usne sach batana chahiye na”*

Another lesson for the naive us!! And the remnants of these times were buried deep.

Cut to 5 yrs later .. we met this WOH again. This time where our longest-ever-stayed-with-us-WOH’s brother was getting married to her (the Run-away-WOH’s) sister-in-law. Despite the long-lost affection, she had no reason to disrespect us and we were the most revered attendants there .. from both the Ladkawalas and the ladkiwalas ! 

Of course she had her side of story, as detailed to my 4-yrs-with-us-then-WOH and her family.. but that I will leave for her blog, if she ever decides to write one!

And what happened to the truthful young WOH we interviewed - lined up Next