No Rhyme

It's been 4 weeks since we moved into the new flat & there have been 4 maids who've stopped by at our place offering to help/aid in household cleaning/servicing.

I guess word gets around the minute they see an open window that was closed for months together or light emanating from an odd spot in the building. Good to know help is at hand. The only problem being that..

We can't converse in a common language. All the maids rattle off in Bangla and leave me speechless. I try hard to go slow on the Hindi with timely gestures to illustrate critical tasks like cooking,jhaadu,poccha and the like. They follow my hand movements and pause a few seconds before smiling and starting off again. In full flow.

Yes, it's a sweet sounding language but I really can't tell the questions from the statements - assuming that both are imbibed in her sales pitch - which becomes a bit of a worry because I don't know where I'm supposed to hold the talk & reply or nod my head and let it go on.

And each of these four times, I resort to my (expected) saving grace - asking for a mobile number to get back with details at a later date. So I motion with a make believe handset against my ear, waiting for a positive from the lady at my door. She watches my actions and responds with a shake of the head. More incomprehensible talk for my ears.

That brings an abrupt end to something that may have been a likely pact with a domestic help.

I need a crash course in basic Bangla. Maybe I should consult Mr. Ghose, our next door neighbour for one. Or from anyone else who's willing to.