The indispensables!

In a city where relationships break and support structures are not easy to come by, there are still people who not only help TV stars keep their homes and hearths spic and span, but also provide that much needed shoulder to cry on, and be the family they have left behind in other cities.

Riya V Anandwala spoke to a few stars to find out the unique relationships they share with their domestic helps.

Says Moulli Gangully, a single woman staying in this metropolis, "I stay with this girl called Manju, who's 26. She basically does everything for me. She has been there for a year. The kind of relationship we share is very difficult to put in words. At times she is my mother, at times my friend, this is because it's only the two of us living together.
I get angry with her too, when something goes wrong. But I also buy her things as I love to pamper her. I completely rely on her; I am not the kind who will be a watchdog 24 x 7, it's just not in my nature. We certainly have an emotional bonding, I guess it's a woman thing."

Amit Sadh, who came down to Mumbai a few years ago with not a penny in hand found a guy called Girish, and he is very close to him. "He is 26 and practically knows everything; he's my master. So we are three in our family, Neeru, Girish and me. I share a very strong emotional bonding with him. We have seen both the bad and the good times together. There have been times I haven't paid him, but still he was there by my side. He eats where I eat, he goes wherever I go! Neeru too is very fond of him."

Iqbal Khan too saw his share of bad times in this city of dreams. But there was someone for him too. "There's this lady who comes to do my house work and I call her 'amma'. She doesn't cook for me. I respect her a lot, firstly because she has been there with me for the past three years, before I got Angad's role, meaning no money! She used get home cooked food for me. There were times I couldn't pay her, but she used to smile and say, "jab tu hero banega na, tab de dena."

Its not only men, but even women need someone for almost everything. And Narayani Shastri is one of them. She says, "I was very close to this girl whom we had hired. She was basically employed to play with my niece as she too was very young then. But eventually I became close to her too. She is now in Kolkatta as her father expired. I had an exceptional bonding with her. We treated her really well and never like a servant; she used to sleep on my lap and even on my bed. She'll soon be back, and I am missing her like anything. By looking at my face she could make out what I wanted. She knows my taste when it comes to food very well. She is a little girl, so had done many courses, like that of a beautician and used to try different things on me. If she is not around, I have my mom here and also we are five sisters and all of them stay nearby, so whenever I have a problem they are there to help me."

Another actor, who has her parents in town, but prefers staying alone in an apartment, is the Remix girl Shweta Gulati. "Yes! I have a maid and I cannot do without her. Her name is Neena and she has been with me sine one and a half years now. The relationship which I share with her is excellent, I call her 'tai' and she calls me 'didi'. She is more like a member of the family than a maid. She comes up to me whenever she finds herself in a soup. Whether it is advances or electricity bills, I try my level best to help her out. Once, she got her daughter to me as she wasn't ready to help her mother. I brainwashed her and made her understand that she should help her mother and stuff like that. We are very close in this sense. I am quite dependent on her, when it comes to my house and of course my puppy. I completely depend on her emotionally as well. I will miss her when she's not around."

So, despite being alone and lonely in this big bad world, our celebs have their own support system that keeps them afloat!