Bang Bang Galore!
A Filmmaker’s BLOGELLA
Written by Steve Rosenberg
Blog 16 (Laundry Girls)
There are days when I want to poke my eyes out and other days when I feel humbled by the humanity of these people. I am not sure who the villains are anymore. I have been following a couple of young sisters both of which are working two jobs. They clean one house from 9am until 12pm, break for lunch and clean the next home from 1 pm until 7pm. When I asked this smiling pony tailed seven-year-old girl how much she made, she held up three rupees. Three rupees are equivalent to ten cents. The sisters can barely stand still for the brief interview, punching and jabbing each other in between questions. The elder sister bought a chocolate cake with her money from the corner store. Rashid, the younger girl is saving her money for her family.
A few days ago, I interviewed the employer of these two girls and she immediately denied being their employer. All the neighbours stared at me from the rooftops as I approached this woman who claimed that she was looking after these children. Mio was busy translating for me and I didn’t need a translator to know that this woman hated my camera. The woman held out her hand to me to stop filming. Eventually, I complied only to witness her punch one of the girls in the arm and shoo them both home. As the girl dropped the wash bucket, I asked again, “Are you sure you are not employing these children?” She became more defiant with each question and repeatedly asked me to turn off the camera. I kept telling her how lovely she appeared on camera, but she was annoyed with my disingenuous antics. “Do you know that I took ten children to church last weekend?” I wanted to tell her that she would need all ten of them to pray for her tainted soul. I don’t doubt that she is a pious woman. She feels like she is helping the poor and I am portraying her as an abusive slave-master.
Today, I met the parents of these two sparkling children. They are from a small town in Karnataka and are here on a ten months contract as manual labourers in construction. There are cranes and bricks rising everywhere in this city and poor families like this are lining up for the four- dollar per day job opportunities. Some bring their children to the construction jobsite while others leave them home to fend for themselves. Given the choice between watching a young barefooted child roam around sand piles, bricks and bamboo scaffolds, leaving them to wash a few loads of laundry is probably the best option.
Mio has been chatting with these migrant labourers for more than six months and just last week, I was lucky enough to film their first day at school. That was the same day Born Free kids poured into the corridors with a spontaneous dance challenge. The little domestic girls had a great time but never again returned to school. I imagine it is partly due to the summer holidays and partly because of the perception that girls are better off learning how to clean.
On camera, the parents told me they have hopes that their children will be educated. They plunked down some a plate of dhal with rice and offered it to me. Smiling with my hands folded in prayer, I refused their generosity. I am not sure, but I have the distinct impression that these people seem happy, perhaps happier than me. I complain endlessly about all the things that should be as I wish them to be. I am trying to imagine what utopia would be for these people and my mind cannot escape the prism of the monetary. I’ve been reading in a few books about the magical optimism of the Indian mind. The theory goes like this; whereas we look to people who are more successful to measure our status in life, Indians compare themselves to those who are less fortunate. It’s a marvelous coping mechanism that I hope to adopt in the future.
I want these children to go to school, but I am learning that this is really none of my business and I am still grappling with what kind of film I will make. I am learning that documentaries take long stretches of times, sometimes two years or three years. God Forbid! India is testing my patience lately. In the next few days, I will be traveling on this photographic expedition for 10 days with a 15 people in a van the size of the Volvo in “Little Miss Sunshine” The group has swollen from 10 to 15 people and I am dreading the accommodations. You should see where I live now…they are not promising rainbows and rose petals on this trip. We will travel to Tamal Nadu, a state I hear is ten degrees hotter and far stickier.
