Stars and their Maids.

By Subhash K Jha

Huma Khan apart, Industry's ladies treat their domestic help very well, Thank You...

Riya Sen:"My maid Sukhi has been with us for 25 years. In fact I was allowed to stay in Mumbai alone by my parents only on condition that Sukhi stays with me! She's an integral part of the family.

She knows me better than anyone else. And I can't do without her. Forget about equal rights, Sukhi has more deciding power in my house than me! If she thinks a guest has misbehaved she can decide to keep him out of my home.

And there's nothing I can do about it. I've to see her face every morning before I leave home. She pampers and fires me in front of guests, and that can be embarrassing.

Sukhi dresses me up, does my hair, selects my bags and shoes. She even knows all my secrets. Maid? Gosh, she's the Maid From Manhattan!

Minissha Lamba: "Since I expect the right to work with dignity I try to extend the same dignity of labour to the people around me. I'm specially careful about the domestic help, driver valet, etc. They depend entirely on their employers for dignity.It's therefore our duty to be doubly humane to them."

Koena Mitra: I've one house help who leaves in the evening and two live-in maids Nikita and Priyanka. I don't even call them maids. It's very important to let them feel like a part of the family.

Show them concern when they're unwell, buy little gifts for them. I trust my two girls completely and leave my five dogs to their care when I'm on outdoors, confident they'd be well looked after.

In fact my dogs run to them first then to me. As for the two girls' security my apartment building is filled with cops so they're complete safe. No one comes to visit them nor do they take random days off since they are from out of town.

My friends envy me for having such great help at home. I'm worried they'll one day get married and leave.I think treating the domestic help callously is unforgivable."

Pooja Bedi:"My older maid's name is Benedicta Crasta. We affectionately call her Bambi. And the younger maid is Anita. I don't treat them as inferior at all. Bambi has been with us for ten years.

She sleeps in a bed alongside my children and travels to every part of the world with me. Both maids use the guest bathrooms and do not have to go down to the servants' bathroom in the building.

They've free access to anything they want to eat in the kitchen, from pickles to chocolates to meats. They're human not objects of exploitation. I believe in the dignity of labour and life."

Sameera Reddy: "I don't know what the truth behind the Huma Khan thing is. But in principle I disapprove of house help being treated badly. There was the case of Liz Hurley's maid suing her. Are you aware of it?

In the US the domestic help has to be treated totally on a par with the family. They can sit on the same sofa as you. In our country that isn't possible. We still suffer from a feudal mindset.

And no matter how liberal we pretend to be at heart we can't let be them feel totally equal. In my home maids are treated like family. I don't have a personal maid.

My mother pampers me and looks after all my needs. Beyond that we three sisters have been taught to be self-sufficient. My father would never allow us to be maid-bound.

Diya Mirza: "I've two ladies Maniamma and Siddamma who help me with the house work.One is a live-in and the other works part-time. They're both accorded the respect of family members.

Zarina Wahab: "My maid Laxmi was with me for 14 years.

Last month she got married and now her sister Bhavani is with me. To me Laxmi and Bhavani are no different from my own daughters. Though I love to cook (Zarina is the best cook and host in Bollywood) I never enter the kitchen when they're at work.

I let Laxmi and now Bhavani take care of everything.They're free to come and go when they want.Apna ghar hai."

Tanushree Dutta: "My maids are treated like members of my family. They work hard, are paid well and get holidays whenever they want. By the way I've no idea what happened to Huma Khan's maid."

Mona Singh: "I'm holidaying in Australia with my sister. Dunno what Huma Khan did to her maid. But yes I've a part-time maid in Mumbai. Her name is Wama. She gets a day off every week and whenever she wants on top of that. Obviously I don't cut her salary for the holidays. How silly!

Priyanka (Nisha) Kothari: "I've a maid Pushpa for myself. But I make no unnecessary demands on her because I believe servants are the people who run your homes with patience and without an ego."

Celina Jaitley: "We don't have a maid. But we've a family khansaama and a housekeeper. They've been with us from the time I was born.Both are handsomely paid. All the expenses for their children's education till college have been borne by us.

Malaika Arora: "I've some maids at home, all women and none underage. We take care of all their needs, just as they take care of us. Medical bills are paid by us. And we've individual bank accounts for them. Elsie who lives with us is a part of the family.

Neetu Chandra: "I've a maid and a cook, a married couple. The maid's name is Devi and her name is registered at the local policestation. I've known her and her family long enough to trust her completely."

Alka Yagnik: "What a question! Our maid are part of our family."

Sophie Chowdhary: "In our family we we address our staff as 'aap'. The questioning of raising a hand doesn't arise. I think it's absolutely disgusting for people to abuse their domestic help.

Having said that, let me also say we need to be firm with the help and won't put up with rudeness, lies or half-hearted work. I always tell my staff that if I don't do my work properly I am reprimanded. So why not them?