My maid just called to let me know her daughter got 83% in the state board exams. Much celebrations here today. She's fought tooth and nail to educate her against so much of the regular societal oppression. This girl is going to rocket through life. Just you watch.

This blew up so let me tell you her story, which she had shared with me in an interview for a book that's going to take a while to be published. My maid who is my age had decided to have only one child. She had a daughter. Then when she got pregnant again, she wanted to abort.

She was not allowed. So she had the child, a boy, and quietly got her tubes tied. Her reasons were clear, when we have one child whatever limited earnings we have can give him or her the best life she can have. However ecosystem wanted a boy. When found out, she was thrown out

Her husband, now a sweeper for the municipality, supported her and they came to Mumbai from the village. She works homes in the mornings but it's been hard. Sometimes the argument prevailed that if they can only manage one, invest in the boy's studies. Know what she did?

She knew she could educate only one and she "fancy notions" that her daughter should study English medium. So she went to the school and negotiated a deal with the school. She would sweep and mop the entire school in the evenings in return for her daughter's education.

I will pause while you finish crying.

In all the years I have known her you can offer her any amount of money for an odd job, cooking, Diwali cleaning, she has *never* broken her promise of cleaning the school. She has gone even with fevers and done her job.

The salary I pay her is a little more than she earns in other homes because she treats my home like her own. she feels safe here, she's free to sit on the couch, watch tv, lie down iand she does more small things unasked for, dusting, boiling drinking water, making a delicacy etc

I asked her to open a bank account and offered to set aside insurance premiums, but she's always been scared of that fund being taken away from her. She uses the salary from. me to purchase uniforms, books, etc that the daughter requires. every other earning goes into household

Post demonetisation she's stubbornly refused to use UPI or any other payment option and ive always grumbled to her ive to walk to the atm only for her. she laughs at m but refuses for this reason. Sadly this pandemic has forced her to have salary sent to husband's account.

so now he knows exactly how much she earns, which she had managed to keep a secret till now. I dont know how she'll manage this aspect going forward but this small victory, of the tenth pass, is an important milestone in vindicating her struggle.