Housewife’s Lot in India Not All Joy

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26639, 9 December 1947, Page 2

Housewife’s Lot in India Not All Joy

Mrs F. H. Bradshaw, who lived in India for 13 years, has recently arrived in New Zealand with her husband and two small childi'en, and hopes to make her home in Dunedin. Mrs Bradshaw is not unduly worried about the scarcity of houses in Dunedin because, she says, the situation, as far as housing is concerned, is much worse in Calcutta. The reason for this is that the standard of living, particularly for the poorer class of Indian, is gradually rising, so that many are now able to leave their hovels and are looking for better houses. “ I would like to correct a slight misconception that New Zealand women have about India,” Mrs Bradshaw said in an interview. “ They think that the European housewife in India has only to lift a finger to summon hordes of efficient servants to do her bidding, but, although there certainly are plenty of servants, the position is not quite as simple as that. The servant problem is a constant strain, and you often have a burning desire to do the work yourself, but that is just “ not done ” in India. There are all sorts of taboos. For instance, servants of one caste will not clean up anything they spill —they might lose caste. Another might bring a drink to you, but will not bring food, while the present-day chauffeur will not clean the car. This last is due, however, to his exalted ideas, and not to any taboo. You can see from* all this that it is necessary to employ more servants than are reallly required, and that, of course, costs a great deal of money. They prepare their own food, as scarcely any of our food is acceptable to them. Another worry is that very few servants have the slightest idea of

cleanliness. I spent a small fortune on soap and disinfectant, and kept up a constant warfare on seasonal pests such as grasshoppers, green flies, cockroaches, flying ants and, of course, the mosquito. In a country where the climate is hot and humid, refrigerators, electric fans, and cars, are necessities, not luxuries, to the European. I, personally, think - that the Indians will try to get the British out of India, and, as part of this drive, may ban imports of many of these comforts, as well as making every effort to under-cut our business. I am aware that this opinion is -not held by some people, but only time can tell how that situation will develop. I must admit that I am glad to be out of India, with its riots when everything is disorganised, lack of hygiene, and unhealthy climate. “ England, too, is in many ways a good place to be out of at the present time. The food situation is deplorable. If you are wanting to send parcels, please send soap and fats, as these are in extremely short supply. In fact,, the soap ration—9oz a month for all purposes—is quite inadequate. Clothes in England were, for the most part, of very good quality, even the utility garments being much better than most of the clothes I have seen here, and the prices compare more than favourably with those in New Zealand, although in almost every country prices seem to be soaring in an alarming manner.” Mrs Bradshaw concluded by remarking that Dunedin was very like parts of Scotland. The character of the town and the surrounding countryside as well as the houses—singlestoreyed—and people reminded her strongly of that country, and she v/as looking forward to a very happy retirement here.