Surati Experience - Day 2

Jan 28 2013

Sitting on a swing in my friend's aunt's house, I started observing the infamous Indian traffic. A street-cleaning lady passed by. She was fully covered to protect herself from the dirt and filth but she had no protective gear - just her sari to cover herself. I wondered what caste she belonged to and what her social upbringing was like. Minutes later, a camel-drawn cart passed by. The animal was showing signs of long-term abuse - certain parts of its back had no hair and the skin was exposed, which suggested to me that it was beaten constantly and consistently on the same area and this prevented proper healing. I wondered about what kind of species are we to enslave nature to our whims. Gandhi said that a country can be judged by the way its citizens treat animals and if that is the case, what can conclude from my observation on his own country? While I was thinking about such serious questions, a girl wearing a 'Hollister' branded t-shirt peeked from her window across the street. I sighed.

A woman-servant came in to the room and disrupted my live entertainment. She started sweeping the floor. I observed her for a few minutes and to not make the situation look freaky, I broke the ice and asked her:

"Can I ask you a question?"

She nodded with a straight face.

"Do you study at a school or a college?", I asked.

"No", she said.

"How old are you?", I asked.

"Twenty", she replied.

I was fairly certain that she received no formal education and was put to this work due to her caste and other social norms. I felt rather upset but thought to myself that the best I can do for her is to appreciate her work and give her gratitude. I took the "Munnabhai MBBS " approach and said:

"Thank you for cleaning this room."

She smiled. I felt content and this experience reminded me of so many research work on psychology that suggests that by giving honest gratitude to others and helping folks in need, certain "happy" chemicals are produced to make us feel better.

P.S: Munnabhia MBBS is a Hindi movie where the main character hugs a servant to show his appreciation. Keeping the cultural norms in mind, I did not hug the woman.