Maid in India

Maid in India: Little Wonders of Hope, Laveena, Amazon Digital Services, 2016

Maya is an average woman living in present-day India. She and her sister, both of whom have Master's degrees, run a tutoring center for students. The birth of her first child forces her to stay home and become a housewife. Her husband, Mohit, says so. A second child makes Maya feel even more like a prisoner in her own home. Maya is very bored and frustrated, and takes it out on Mohit.

Growing up, Maya was a quiet type of person who enjoyed writing. She returns to writing poetry while the children are asleep. A book of her poems is published and becomes very popular. Maya is now a celebrity. She realizes that she needs help around the house, and looking after the children, while she deals with her new writing commitments.

Through informal, family connections, Maya is introduced to Pooja, a teenage girl from a local township. Pooja does an excellent job as a maid and babysitter, but something is very wrong with her. After several months, Pooja tells Maya what is bothering her. Her mother got sick and died, because her father drank away all of their money. Her two younger sisters live with different grandmothers back home, and she wants nothing more than to have all three of them living under the same roof.

After giving it lots of thought, Maya decides to have Pooja work for her only part of the day, and spend the rest of each day attending a local makeup and beauty academy, paid for by Maya (giving her a hand up instead of a hand out). After graduation. Pooja goes back home to set up shop. Does it work? Does her father get in the way? Is she able to help her sisters?

This is a short tale that can be read in less than an hour. It can be set anywhere in the world, and it has something to say. If I wanted to be particular, I would suggest that it needs to go to a proofreader whose native language is English. But don't let that get in the way of reading this very interesting story.