The end of the love affair.

Naan to die for …..

Figuratively speaking!!  For those who got all excited and were hoping for juicy snippets, I best explain from the outset I was merely courting India and the life of sun, sea and friendliness.   Alas, the veneer has come off to expose the naked truth, which reveals human nature as it exists everywhere…  And clearly Indians are just as adept at cutting corners, taking the easy option and trying to get away with doing as little as possible as the next person.

So it was that on New Year’s Eve, I finally exploded…  and poor Anandu lost his job.  He had been skating on thin ice and trying my patience for a little while.  When Anandu came to ask for his just rewards for burning rubbish and sweeping up some leaves in the courtyard mid-November, I was a little taken aback – he had hardly moved a leaf but he had disposed of some rubbish and been helpful in finding me a reliable tuk-tuk driver.  Although I had not yet been paid and funds were low, I relented and we settled on a truce: he would get half his wages in the middle of the month (apparently his college fees were due…) and the rest would be paid at the end of the month. November passed quite amicably and we moved into the season of Goodwill for all.  So when Anandu had an unexpected expense in early December – a hospital visit which necessitated some stitches at the cost of 500 rupees – I agreed on paying him his dues a little earlier.  Then came Christmas, and in all honesty, it was only a week before the end of the month, so I saw no harm in paying the remainder – how could I begrudge him a little bit of Christmas cheer.  In the meantime, leaves were growing thicker on the courtyard and my rubbish seemed to multiply rather than disappear and food remnants provided an abundant feast for the local wildlife…

Just as I was getting ready to go out to celebrate the end of yet another year in The Life Of…, the doorbell rang with no other than Anandu at the other side.  Was I busy, he enquired.  He might have guessed from my appearance that something was going on – the glam shoes with the smart churidar and even a  splash of make-up might have given him a clue.  But apparently, it was urgent and could not wait, so I duly invited him in thinking some or other disaster might have befallen him.  However, when all he wanted was an advance on January’s pay because ‘his college fees were due’, when we were still breathing the 2014 air and he had not moved a single leaf yet in January, I lost my rag and relieved him from his duties  Don’t get me wrong, I do not mind paying a little extra for a job well done, but draw the line at paying for a job NOT DONE and NOT EVEN STARTED.

So, this morning I burnt the rubbish myself and swept up the leaves to provide the necessary kindling.  And Anandu’s loss will be some cleaner’s gain, because I can now justify putting this money towards someone to help me with my pet hate: cleaning…

As far as celebrating New Year’s Eve was concerned, I’ve had better and I’ve had worse… sitting outside in a 5*hotel watching Bollywood-type dancing, eating amazing food (the naan freshly made in the tandoor was to die for…), getting doused twice by passing showers and being the recipient of many New Year wishes from random strangers  (not sure why I was singled out…), and of course having a flutter on the dance floor: an interesting end to 2014 and a promising start for 2015, especially with the prospect of a cleaner to make my life easier!!