This episode happened about 15 years back. In our constant
endeavor to get the “right” stay-at-home domestic help, we finally found this
lady called Shanthi. She came with good reference from people known to us for
years.
Shanthi looked slim and slender. She had beautiful features and
long black hair. The way she knots up her hair and starts her chores was a
sight worth watching. She would go about the morning tasks with so much
sincerity that all of us at home were very contended. We talked amongst
ourselves (with our eyes) at every task of hers, signifying how happy and
satisfied we were with her sense of duty.
The first two weeks, we rejoiced. During the third week, my nephew
came up to me one morning. He was in all just about 18 years then. He shut the
door behind us and started explaining what had happened the previous evening
after all of us had retired to bed. He narrated the episode with a lot of
horror. He was in the living room watching some cricket match on
TV. It was well past 11 in the night. Shanthi suddenly appeared from her room,
walked straight to the main door in the living room which was all latched up.
She started knocking the door a couple of times. Then she walked up to the French
door leading to the balcony. A few knocks there…By this time, my nephew asked
her what was wrong. She looked at him straight in the eye. Her long hair was
left open. She stared at him without saying anything. This boy grew nervous. He
immediately switched off the TV and ran into his bedroom, locked himself up and
came out only in the morning.
I laughed to my heart’s content hearing his narration. Then I
comforted him saying that he is paranoid about such behaviors even otherwise
and there is nothing to read between lines here. He was not convinced but I
chose to ignore this episode.
A week later, my hubby left to another country for work. People at
home were my parents-in-law, nephew, niece, my son and Shanthi! One evening,
after I got back from work, around 10 PM, we started having our dinner. My
in-laws had slept off. Shanthi had arranged the table and had gone off to
sleep. The 4 of us at the dinner table, as is the usual practice in our family,
were exchanging our day’s stories with each other. In loud decibels, we were
chatting and laughing. Suddenly, Shanthi stepped out of her room and stood
behind my son. The same way my nephew had described. Straight looking, hair
left open and eyes gazing. I immediately ordered my son to get up and move to our
side of the table. Shanthi held his chair, kept looking at me intently raising
her eyebrows as though questioning me. The children fell quiet. Their heads
bent down in fear. I was left alone to handle this psycho woman.
For a moment, I thought to myself, what can happen...worst
possibility is that she can hit me. But If I hit her back she is sure to die.
That gave me a world of courage. I asked her, “Shanthi, what happened?” in a
commanding tone. She looked at me deeply and nodded her head and said, “What?
What? (in Tamil, that is, Ennama, Ennama). She kept saying that. I
realized she is trying to scare us. So I immediately left my hair open. I am
blessed with thick, long, hair which I put to good use in this instance. I
started behaving exactly like Shanthi. So much that she got scared for sure.
She got herself in quick composure and kind of pretended shaking herself up.
Then she tied her hair up. Wiped her face. I still kept springing on my feet
with my hair left loose. She sure thought I have got possessed. She asked me if
I wanted water. With some groans, I said yes. She quickly ran to the kitchen
and fetched some water for me. After drinking that, I pretended to have calmed
down. I ordered her to go and sleep.
After all this drama, the terrified kids, looked up at me and I
winked at them. We finished our dinner quickly, ran to our bedrooms and started
roaring with laughter.
Meanwhile in the middle of this commotion, my MIL had slightly
opened the door of her bedroom to see why there was so much noise outside. The
moment she saw Shanthi and me in the same form, she quickly shut her door and
never came out until the next day morning.
We still laugh heartily whenever we recall this episode!
Maids & their tantrums!!
