Bringing up the Brit

Soon the surrogate mothers were left behind

An accessory of the Raj, the ayah was indispensable to the British planter8217;s household in Munnar. She ably assisted the memsahib to raise her brood, picking up a smattering of English in the process, which she proudly flaunted. 8220;Darling, don8217;t pluck the roses,8221; I once heard one tell her impish ward, 8220;Mummy will be very 8216;crass8217; with you!8221;

The children, in turn, learned a little Tamil from the ayah who, despite being no nightingale, was often required to sing her ward to sleep. Asked to sing at a birthday party, a little minx enthusiastically burst into a Tamil ditty learnt from the ayah. The all-women British audience applauded, little realising that the six-liner was sheer ribaldry, not meant for refined ears!

Once a plump ayah waddled past our house pushing a pram with a pink-cheeked infant cooing contentedly. A passing tea-picker took the liberty of fondling the child8217;s chubby cheeks, making it cry. The ayah was indignant. She roundly berated the woman before wheeling off her precious cargo in a huff. Strolling with the ayah, a tyke wanted to spend a penny, so she dutifully hustled him behind a bush. 8220;But why can8217;t I pee on the roadside like the others?8221; he protested observantly.

Forbidden to use the radio, an ayah slyly tuned in when her employers were away, quickly turning off the set when they returned. The memsahib confronted her. 8220;Did you switch on the radio?8221; she queried. 8220;No, ma8217;am,8221; lied the ayah, feigning innocence. 8220;Then how come it8217;s warm?8221; countered memsahib shrewdly. 8220;Have you been sitting on it?8221;

One night a rampaging tusker attacked a British planter8217;s bungalow, forcing him to open fire. In the ensuing pandemonium the ayah and his little daughter went missing. The duo was later found cowering under a cot, locked in a tight embrace, with the ayah feverishly fingering her rosary beads!

Not surprisingly, those bonds endured. Now and then a hopeful Munnar-born Brit turns up here 8220;looking for an ayah who brought me up as a child8221;. The elusive ayah is seldom traced but when she is, the reunion is understandably emotional and joyful.