'How will we eat if we sit at home': Story of a domestic help in times of COVID-19 pandemic

Kabhi na kabhi to marna hi hai, isme darne ki kya baat hai? Ghar pe baith ke kaise khaenge? Bahut mushkil ho jata hai (One day we have to die so what is there to be afraid of ? How will we eat if we keep sitting at home?),” says Sangeeta, a domestic help at Lajpat Nagar.

​The nationwide lockdown had been very difficult for the 40-year-old, who moved to Delhi from Chennai 30 years ago with her mother to find work as a domestic help.

“Pehle main dus jagah jaati thi, jisme do dukan aur ek office tha. Par ab sirf char jagah jaati hu. (I used to go to 10 places, of which, two were shops and one office. But now I am going to just four places).”

During the lockdown, only one employer paid her for a month. And the automobile repair shop her husband works at being shut, it was not enough to make both ends meet. Which is why, she took a loan of Rs 20,000 to send her daughter, daughter-in-law, and grandchild back to her hometown.

“Hum ghar nahi gaye kyuki sabhi chale jaenge toh ghar mein paisa kaise bhejenge (We didn’t go home because if all of us go back, where will we get money from?).”

On June 5, she heaved a sigh of relief when finally the shopkeepers called her to resume work. She leaves from her shanty in Jal Vihar at 6.30 am daily.

“Par ab kaam jaldi khatam ho jata hai. (Now, works gets over early).” Sangeeta says she didn’t get any help from the Delhi government. Many families in the adjoining shanties were left without food; her shanty owner provided food only for two days.

“Jaha main pehle jaati thi un sb gharo mein pucha, par vo blte hain call karke bulaenge jab kaam karwana hoga. (I went to all homes where I previously worked, but they said they will call me when they would want me to work).” She doesn’t carry a sanitiser, but wears masks given by her employers.

“Par main haath dho ke ghar ke andar jaati hu aur nikalne se pehle bhi haath dhoti hu. Ye log apni marzi se kaam karne dete hain mujhe. Ek ghar ki malkin toh roz khana aur chai bhi deti hain. (But, I wash my hands on entering the house and after finishing my work. They let me work out of their own good will. One lady even serves me food and tea),” she says, with a hope that good things are around the corner.