An old lady lives above our house on the third floor. She is a very old family friend of ours. I call her ajji (grandmother). She knows my mother from her college days. She lives with her son (mama) and daughter-in-law (mami) and 2 grandchildren.
There’s is typical bollywood melodrama household. Ajji does all the chores while mami watches TV. She cooks food for her grandchildren else mami will order pizza or whatever the children demand. Since she insists on veggies and home cooked food and doesn’t appreciate fast food, she becomes the bad one while mami who gives whatever the kids demand is the good one.
She is allotted a seat only on which she sits. She eats when she is served food. Actually not served.. but given permission to eat.
Once a proud wife of a librarian. She is also no less intellectual. But know she is reduced to a maid. Well, not even maid. One is scared of the maid that if you mistreat her that she might abandon you with unwashed dishes etc., and one pays her too.
But my ajji is not paid money or respect or anything. The once-upon-a-time innocent and loving kids follow the path of their mom and ill-treat their granny.
Its so heart breaking to see her sit on the stairs and cry night after night. She covers her mouth with the edge of her saree pallu to muffle the sound. She gets berated for crying loudly. She has forbidden me or my mom to tell anyone about it. She has asked my mom to find her an old age home. She plans to leave everything.
“Why don’t you just die quickly?”
There’s is typical bollywood melodrama household. Ajji does all the chores while mami watches TV. She cooks food for her grandchildren else mami will order pizza or whatever the children demand. Since she insists on veggies and home cooked food and doesn’t appreciate fast food, she becomes the bad one while mami who gives whatever the kids demand is the good one.
She is allotted a seat only on which she sits. She eats when she is served food. Actually not served.. but given permission to eat.
Once a proud wife of a librarian. She is also no less intellectual. But know she is reduced to a maid. Well, not even maid. One is scared of the maid that if you mistreat her that she might abandon you with unwashed dishes etc., and one pays her too.
But my ajji is not paid money or respect or anything. The once-upon-a-time innocent and loving kids follow the path of their mom and ill-treat their granny.
Its so heart breaking to see her sit on the stairs and cry night after night. She covers her mouth with the edge of her saree pallu to muffle the sound. She gets berated for crying loudly. She has forbidden me or my mom to tell anyone about it. She has asked my mom to find her an old age home. She plans to leave everything.
“Why don’t you just die quickly?”
“for what are still alive.. to eat my head.. I know..”
“you can’t just laze around and expect to get fed. You have to work for it!”
These are the kind of stuff one gets hear outside their door.
I have no idea what her son does in the house. How can it be possible that he isn’t aware of her plight?? Her cheeks and eyes are permanently swollen with tears. Can’t he see that? The problem is that most of this nautanki takes place only when mama has gone off for work.
I really can’t understand for what ajji is tolerating all this shit?? I mean she is financially independent. She has her husband’s pension coming in every month plus their savings and the house in which they are all staying. The house in which mama and mami are squatters.
Ajji can easily ask them leave her house. She can also file a domestic violence complaint or do so many things. Why doesn’t she do it????????
This isn’t the case with my ajji alone. She is just one of the 1000s of such ajjis and other weak, helpless and scared people.
I really see no solution as to what can be done in such a situation. No amount of legislation can help unless the victim decides to make use of it.
