OCT 2, 2015 SERVE YOUR SERVANTS DAY

This year too I celebrated October 2nd- Gandhi's birth anniversary as "SERVE YOUR SERVANTS DAY". What with my work load and having the 'flu, had been wondering how I would make it, but everything fell into place perfectly.

There were 65 guests-the maids of course and the gardeners and the security personnel and the municipal waste collectors and the painters (who were incidentally painting the Society buildings). After 5 years all my guests know that this is their day. They came dressed in their best and participated without any shyness in all the games.

Touching moments: The man who delivers flowers to the building, this year too had brought a 50 feet long string of jasmine and 2 dozen red roses for the maids and refused payment for them.

The gardener (who I call Baba; don't know his name although I quarrel with him daily over the tending of the garden)  and Jitendra the watchman who made sure everyone knew of the date and time and had an invite and cleaned and decorated the club house for the event.

The Chairman of the Society who unlike previous years, did not charge me for use of the club house.

My dear friends came without being asked to help in managing the games and serving the food. (biryani, cutlets and jalebis). (Thank you Devika, Beena, Sapna, Preeti, Sujata although I seriously doubt you busy society gals will ever see this page.)

My dear old friend Jehanbux Desai who gave me a small discount on the food. A very very very small discount. (You miserable Parsee!)

Sadly this year, forgot to take pictures. My niece Sonam did take one (she says she was too busy eating to take pictures) but I look so well-fed in that, I refuse to upload it.

Here's hoping for many happy returns of this day.

Rosemary

SERVANTS' DAY 2014 - A JOY OF GIVING ENDEAVOUR

2014 -Servants' Day Celebrations .  This is the 5th year I'm celebrating Gandhi Jayanti as Servants' Day. By now everyone in the area knows about and waits for 2nd October and so this year I had more guests than ever before . About 70 domestics, municipal sweeper staff, security staff turned up. All word-of-mouth invitees.  We had games, lunch and take away gifts for all. Some pics.

Urmila, my help for 12 years, now has a grandchild Samruddhi who also attended.

Fun and Games

 Fried rice, aloo subzi, sheera, sabudana wada, and barfee.

Surprise gifts!

The guests and volunteers.

Hopefully, next year too!
Rosemary

Servants' Day 2011 (Joy of Giving Week)

As part of the Joy of Giving Week, I celebrated  Servants’ Day on October 2^nd Gandhi Jayanti, this year too; and this year it was almost the same as last year and yet also very different.  

 his year I decided that the only way to avoid the negative and hurtful comments of last year, ( http://goo.gl/AyfLp ) was not to ask for any donations or contributions.  Accordingly I let it be known that this year’s Servants Day was going to be sponsored exclusively by me.  However, one kind old gentleman advised me that this wasn’t right. “Get people a chance,” he urged.  “Don’t shut them out.”  There was something to be said for his point of view also and so I informed friends and neighbors that while I was going to sponsor the event they could contribute if they wished to.

No one did so.   Like the previous year, I was again told that treating the “bais” was not a good idea, that they gave their servants food and clothes; that the “bais” anyway kept borrowing money and not returning it; that I had done this event last year and why do it again; that Divali was coming up and they would have to give the servants something then too;   and finally that if I wanted to waste my money on such a foolish idea, I was welcome to.  Faced with this much hostility, I began to doubt myself.  Was I being foolish?  But all doubts fled seeing the eager anticipation in the faces of Urmila and Laxmi the women who came in daily to help.  

 I decided that since most of the help were fasting, it being Navratri- that’s the nine days of fasting preceding Dassehra  I decided on  sabudana  (sago)vadas,  coconut burfee, potato chips,  rajgira (amaranth flour) laddoos, and lime juice.  (Yep, believe it or not, these are permitted foods for a Hindu fast.) Also like the last year I would give  every help a gift and have games they could enjoy.

Nevertheless, I was feeling a little downcast working on the whole event all by myself.  Then a  couple of my friends called.  They had just learned that I was doing the whole thing all by myself and they insisted they would not let me shoulder the burden alone.  Anju insisted on buying the potato chips and Usha, who loves sweets but cannot  eat them because she is a diabetic, said she would buy the coconut burfee.   Mamta said she would sponsor the lime juice and all of them promised to come over on Sunday and help.  Happiness!!

The next hurdle was requesting permission to use the Club House for the event,  from the Building Committee.  Last year, they had flatly refused it.  This year, I was in for a surprise.   When I went to the Committee Office, I found that the Secretary had left a message saying that I should have the club house at a minimum fee and that if I felt I could not pay the amount, he would pay it. Now that was really nice!

And so, this year’s SD was same and yet it was different. We had the entire building’s domestic help, security staff, sweepers, gardeners, all 60 of them,  playing passing-the-parcel, winning gifts, eating, and giggling at the lucky dip basket.  We had people who were as boorish as last year and we had people who gave generously and thought it was a wonderful idea!

But by far the best part of this year’s Servants’ Day was discovering that I had such wonderful taste in friends!
Rosemary