In the 1950s, as a doctor working in rural Rajasthan, there were several socio-cultural experiences I encountered while interacting with the local members of the community. During my service, my wife and I were staying in a village bereft of water supply and electricity. In order to make our stay more comfortable, we hired a domestic help who would assist my wife with the daily household chores.
As time passed, he requested leave of absence for 10 days. To ensure we are not inconvenienced, he got us a substitute.
A few days letter, my wife mentioned that she wasn’t pleased with the substitute domestic help’s cleaning standards. Since he wasn’t listening to my wife’s instructions, she asked me to intervene. My being more firm and instilling some fear in him, she believed, would make a positive difference. Heeding my wife’s request, I gave him the requisite advice. My message was made clear with the threat that someone else would substitute him if he didn’t do as he was told. The domestic help’s reaction to my threat took me by surprise.
He stated that we would not be able to hire anyone else in place of him, as our regular domestic help would make those decisions! Upon questioning his audacity in making such a statement, here’s what he said, “Your regular domestic help has taken a loan and offered to mortgage you and your wife for Rs. 25 as collateral security. Thus, nobody will come and work here until the loan is repaid.”
I was stunned. How could my wife and I be under a mortgage of Rs. 25? Was this even possible? I immediately took out my wallet and gave our domestic help Rs. 25. However, since he hadn’t taken the loan in the first place, he refused to accept the money. While his honesty was commendable, I decided to bring an end to this matter immediately. Leveraging my position as the doctor of the village, I called the police and ensured that our regular domestic help repaid the money. With this, we were released from the mortgage and free to decide who would work at our home!
In hindsight, I am taken aback by the mentality of the villagers I encountered during my service.
I firmly believe that understanding their psyche and getting an insight into their belief system proved to be as rewarding as providing health care services with limited resources!
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