Upstairs and Downstairs

Posted by dizzy on Thursday July 06, @12:05AM

The watchman wanted his daughter to be taught mathematics by the lady. And the servant maid...

The watchman was so stupid that he didn't even know he was being ill-treated. And the lady, who ill-treated him, took full advantage of this. My first flashes of anger died now, and then I felt inexplicable amazement that the lady could actually do such a thing. A typical middle class lady, reasonably educated, married, she must have realised that she was ill treating the watchman, who must have been in his fifties.

The watchman had a young daughter who was struggling to make decent grades in the poverty ridden school she attended ( I learnt this while I heard him talk to my grandfather, but more about that later) . I guessed that much of the salary the watchman received, perhaps 200 Rs., was spent on her. I don't know if he had a wife; and if he did, she too probably sacrificed much for the child.

The lady who lived in the ground floor gave the watchman more work than he could do and much more than his job description would allow. The poor stupid man, without the slightest notion that he was being taken advantage of, worked his aged body hard, to please the lady and thus ensure that he wouldn't lose this, his only job.

Perhaps my grandfather was the watchman's only friend. I have often seen him sitting by the side of the door, outside the house, chatting with my grandfather. I wondered how the watchman managed this. Surely, he couldn’t knock on my grandfather's door and express a desire to chat with him. His modus operandi, I soon discovered was simple. He would wait for the servant maid, who usually came at 3 in the afternoon and follow her up to the second floor and wait with her until the door of my grandfather's house opened. And then, when the door did open, he would loiter around in the lobby, while the servant maid went in. He would just stand there, hoping my grandfather would rid him of this embarrassing wait. Sometimes, my grandfather would just nod at him and shut the door. After all the watchman wasn’t my grandfather’s only friend. And if my grandfather did talk to him, it would be about politics, of which I don't think the watchman understood much. He felt good listening to somebody else's voice other than the lady's. Recently, I have begun to suspect that the watchman might have been partially deaf in one or both ears. I have overheard this tête-à-tête often and the watchman's responses often had no connection with what my grandfather had said. He must have felt an urge to contribute no doubt, and perhaps his ignorance prevented him from saying anything of value. So digging into his limited vocabulary, he must have said whatever he knew. His ignorance and deafness, his eager enthusiastic wrinkled face, the content look in his eyes...all this made me feel very bitter and sad. And there I was sitting on the couch battling with Kant's Critique.

Suddenly the lady called out the watchman's name. It was a loud, vulgar and coarse order for the watchman to present himself for more work-instructions. The watchman jumped up with a look of absolute horror in his face. He possibly thought the lady had been calling out to him for a long time; and his accursed ears hadn't helped him at all. He hurriedly muttered an apology to my grandfather, who was already making preparations to withdraw into the house. And in a matter of seconds, the watchman was downstairs, receiving orders for escorting the lady's grandchildren from school.

Every week day at 5, about 10 children, none older than 12 years, assembled at the lady's house. For an hour or two, the lady would teach them science and mathematics. I later gathered that it was the watchman’s daughter’s idea that she too attend the coaching classes. And the watchman father agreed. The lady agreed too, but she demanded that the watchman also paid the fees, just like the others did. I was there when this conversation took place. The stupid watchman couldn't understand the rationale behind this request. When he himself knew that he had no money to pay as fees, without starving his family, why couldn't the intelligent educated lady understand that? He stood there fumbling with his vocabulary, desperately searching for words that could explain to the lady his predicament. And the young daughter, was sitting outside, on the compound, scribbling away on a coloring book.

Meanwhile, there was something else happening at my grandfather's house. The servant maid had just been informed that my grandparents would be going to see their daughter who lived in another city. And the old lady, who hardly had any teeth, expressed her joy that soon the family would be together, and in incoherent words prayed for a safe and comfortable journey. The poor old lady didn't realise that during the three months when my grandparents would be absent, the old lady would have no work, and consequently no money.

But before she had to trouble herself with this, my grandmother pressed some notes into the lady's hands. I later learnt that my grandfather was strongly opposed to the amount that was given. It was a pittance by any standards, and I couldn't understand why he would have protested. I have always heard from my parents that education gave us certain extra advantages which we ought to use for better judgement and to make wiser decisions. Now, I no longer believe that. There is morality, that nothing can teach- what Kant describes as the moral law within. Only when the servant maid was near the door, just about to lift her torn straw bag from the floor, did she realise that she wouldn't not have made any money during my grandparents' absence. And then she truly understood the significance of the wet, crumpled notes which she clasped in her right fist. I saw her face suddenly brighten up, and she turned around to face my grandfather who had just come into the hall to ensure that the servant maid shut the door properly while leaving. She smiled uncontrollably, revealing her thick brown gums. She was taller than my grandfather, but a constant habit of bending in order show her obedience and bowing in agreement, made her appear much shorter. Her vocabulary must have been much better than the watchman's, for she spoke for long; although nothing was comprehensible. But it was plain to see that she was thanking my grandfather for his generosity.

And downstairs, while the watchman still tried to grasp with the situation he currently faced, probably something he didn't expect, the lady continued to scold him for his insolence. The servant maid climbed down the stairs, walked past the lady, the watchman, past the daughter, and out through the gate, still marveling at her luck. After a few minutes, the watchman was dismissed with an order to make some purchases. I was wondering how he would explain to his daughter that she couldn't be taught mathematics by the lady.