It's a maid to order household

Three days after the Kosi waters brokethe bundh in Madhubani district in Bihar last August, life nearly came to astandstill in a duplex apartment in Saket in south Delhi.Eight-year-old Manas missed his school bus as his tiffin wasn''tready on time and had to be dropped off by an irate father who couldn''t have hiscup of coffee in bed because his wife was busy getting the bottle ready fortwo-year-old Mansi who needed to be left with the parents-in-law in Hauz Khasbefore she could leave for work.A bit far-fetched? Maybe yes... butalmost there. That''s what life''s like for a lot of urban single-unit homes whenBaiju has to suddenly leave to bail out his original family back home, insteadof the surrogate one he''s been adopted by over the last ten years.Welcome to the new wave extended Indian family: the working couple,their two children, and the household''s CEO, Shankar. "Shankar runsmy house," says Rakhi Anand. She''s a marketing executive who spends more than 12hours out of home every day and it''s Shankar who "makes sure that the kids eattheir fruit, that the car has enough petrol, that Bobby the dog gets hismutton-roti and walk on time."Shankar was 14 when he came to Delhifrom a village in Samastipur some eight years back. "He could barelywrite his name then. Today, he has a driving license. He even has my ATM code sohe can make sure there''s enough ready cash for emergencies at home," says Rakhiwith a bit of pride. What was earlier the ''helping hand'' isgradually becoming ''part of the family''. It''s no longer a surprise that "themaid sits on the same bed as my daughter" and "pours her own food".Now she flies to Paris - economy class - for family holidays and, asin Mandira Nanda''s case, "shares a separate room with the children."A holiday wouldn''t work without her. "We would be stuck with thechildren at the hotel every night, so what''s the point of going to Paris?" saysMandira. And so domestic help goes international.At home the trustedguardian has her own second rung of helpers. Like Sudha, now ''Sue didi'' toShruti and her family of six which includes her husband, her two sons and thesecond girl who does most of the heavier chores. Sue didi, aftermaking sure that the boys have eaten well, sits down with five-year-old Armaanto ensure that he does his homework. Shruti is as aware of herresponsibilities towards Sudha. For a couple of years now she''s been trying tofind a "good match" for her. "It''s tough for her to go back to thevillage and settle there. At 27, she''s a little too old for her family to findsomeone who matches her expectations," says Shruti who''s advertised in thematrimonial section of a national daily for a groom for Sudha. Hasshe had any responses? "Yes, a few," says Shruti. "We''ve checked out a couple ofthem. One of the boys is a clerk and we''re hopeful." And so Sudha will move upthe social ladder.What will Shruti do once Sudha has a family of herown? Shruti''s not so sure. But Sudha''s promised to get her niece from thevillage and have her in place before she gets married. She''s toofond of the kids to leave them in the lurch. They are family.