THE REAL LAXMI

(In the Hindu religion, LAXMI is the Goddess of wealth)

" I am Laxmi", she said. I simply looked at her! The contradiction of her name reflected in her attire. Dark skin, crumpled clothes with loud colors, a large bindi adorning her forehead.

Laxmi had come to take care of the additional work in my house. She had a son and daughter-in-law, barely in her forties. “My parents married me off very early Memsahab," she said, sipping her tea.

She was an early riser. 6.35 am and she would be at the door. At times I felt guilty ... jealous too! My inflated ego of corporate life would deflate before her professionalism. The utensils would be shining, her cleaning was neat and she went about her chores like the formulated excel sheets in my laptop, utmost precision...

Weeks passed, I returned home from work one day, to some commotion at my building. An elderly lady had passed away. Neighbors paid condolences and the cremation took place after 2 days. Their children came from abroad. Relatives and people around helped with the last rites.

On a leisurely Sunday, Laxmi had her share of chai time with me and narrated an incident related to the neighbor's cremation. Laxmi used to take care of the elderly couple at times, the lady of the house was sick and disabled. “What Kaliyug, Memsahab!” She said. “The daughter in law’s didn’t turn up. Only one son came for the funeral. I gave a good farewell to that Aunty. I bathed her with Ganga Jal, draped a new saree, put her green bangles, gajra, bindi, and toe rings. She was like a mother to me...Memsahab, she was the Gruhalaxmi and malkin (landlady) of the house. How can I send her like a sick woman? Even I have to reply to God, na?” Saying this she picked the teacups.

Made me wonder...who was the real Laxmi?