Love
This is my personal experience. Fulbanu was around 35 years old when she worked in my mother’s household. Her daughter Maya might be 12 years old. They were Six brothers and sisters. They used to live in a slum area, not very far from our home. Maya sometimes came to help her mother.
All maidservants of Bangladesh are ill paid. The society is based on exploitation like any other developing country. Social justice is least ensured.
There were other maids in our home. In the evening other maids from the neighborhood used to come to our home to join their friends. My mother was kind enough to allow this. I observed them talking, laughing and enjoying a lot among themselves. There was no lack of pleasure. Pleasures do not need education, status, position, income etc. It requires human feelings and human hearts. These are free gifts of nature.
We called our maids as “Bua”. At night they slept on mats. Smooth and deep sleep was their blessings. Within minutes they were in deep sleep. They needed no sleeping tablets and no medicine for diabetes and blood pressure. I felt that they were happier than us.
Once I called Maya to do some household work. In the end I gave her some money and a left over olive. I said, “Eat the olive here with some salt”. She said, “ No, I will take it home and eat it together with my parents, brothers and sisters.” I said, “ How is that possible? You have only one olive and including you there are eight family members.” She said, “ I will make “Bhorta” with it. First I shall boil it and then put salt, molasses, chili, coriander leaves and some mustard oil. I will then make smashed olive and share it with all family members during dinner.”
I was astonished hearing this. She taught me many things that I could not learn by reading many books. I felt that poverty created love, affection and human bond. Sharing is the first condition of love. Maya learnt it better than me. They did not have enough to have the whole of anything. They got parts and pieces. I felt love consisted of parts and pieces that needed to be shared.
