The incredible ordinary small town girl
‘Things are
scarce. Opportunities are few. If you don’t work hard, you won’t survive!’
I would hear
this often from my parents and teachers who worried about my careless
ways.
These were the
years 1977-1995 in Bhopal, an industrial township of hundreds of engineers,
doctors, artisans, accountants, workers, from all parts of the country. The
children were self-motivated achievers excelling in academics, sports and
performing arts and accomplishing the lofty expectations of their middle class parents.
I was a
different child.
Despite taking
up Math and Sciences at the behest of my parents to target engineering entrance
exams, I held more allegiance to my first love for Language and Literature.
Needless to say, I could barely sail through my engineering exams. Tired of
academic pressures at the tender age of seventeen, I wished to escape into a
completely unknown world of work and skills. I urged my parents to allow me to
appear in other (read modest) college entrance exams.
As the great Rumi
says – ‘What you seek is seeking you!’
And sure
enough, my eyes fell on the National Council of Hotel Management and Catering
Technology (NCHMCT) entrance exams facilitating admissions into hotel
management diploma courses. I was selected for IHM Lucknow, much to the
displeasure of my parents who were unaware of the utility of such skill-based
trainings and that too offering a mere Diploma or a Certificate. It was hard to
convince an erudite Bengali family. I assured them that I would pursue
the customary Degree through distance education and I did keep my word later on.
I boarded the
train for Lucknow. Like a homesick adolescent girl fighting back her tears
while waving goodbye to the parents whom she had failed so miserably.
The incredible ordinary hotel housekeeper
‘So what do
you do at the hotel? Cook or clean?’
This was the feedback
I got every time on sharing the news of joining The Oberoi Centre of
Learning and Development after completing the hotel management course. No
one in my immediate family or friends had the faintest idea that the
institution was one of the finest places to begin a career in Hospitality. Schoolmates
from my hometown still doubted if ‘Housekeeping’ was a serious profession. They
were concerned for my safety. They truly sympathized with me for not being able
to make it in engineering, medicine, banking, strategy consulting or law.
And then,
there was magic!
Well. Not
really. I wish this were a fairy tale.
I started sharing
experiences of my work with everyone back home through letters, STD phone calls
and extensive talks during the vacation visits. I shared with them how the
industry inspired me to handle emotions better; how I prepared budgets and duty
rosters, wrote standard operating procedures, designed training calendars,
placed orders on emails, and operated the intranet and internet while creating presentations.
The world of hotels was new for everyone and they would gobble up those
behind-the-scene stories related to VIP guests, floor renovations and staff
appraisals. They also witnessed my transfers and promotions. I would share my
professional highs and lows with them over the phone.
Just when life
was moving on the best track, I lost my mother in a tragic road accident. Consequently,
my father needed constant care and attention. All this coincided with the time
when I was about to have my first baby.
I also came
face to face with the challenges that new (often lactating) mothers confronted during
night shifts, double duties and a fixed maternity leave quota.
After the long
deliberation, I quit hotels.
What stayed
with me, however, was the spirit of a hotelier who felt deeply indebted
to her hotel background. Hotels had been a rich source of learning
opportunities, fantastic experiences and even my life partner.
I craved to
express my gratitude for the industry in whichever little ways I possibly
could.
The incredible ordinary hotelier-turned-author
And so I
decided to write...
To highlight
the daily trials of modest hotel workers in India.
To lay bare
the struggles of white-collared, blue-collared and non-collared staff, in order
to break the stereotypes about hotel professionals.
To reach out
to the famous travel writers and presenters who could feature the lives of
hotel professionals ardently working to create and keep a world of glamour,
even in the contrasting reality of our country.
To help certain
parts of the society come out of a feudal mindset and show respect towards
service-oriented work, such as hospitality.
To separate
‘services’ from ‘servitude’.
To shatter the
outrageous sense of entitlement in a few domestic travellers who seemed to
believe that they owned the hotel staff as bonded labourers for the period of
their stay.
To alter the
deep set bias against Hospitality and uphold it as a respectful career choice
among the parents and youth, especially in Tier II and Tier III cities in India.
I toiled away
at the writing desk and completed the book manuscript, then titled as ‘The
Corridor Chronicles’.
But it was
tough to sell the story of a humble hotel housekeeper to the literary agents
and commissioning editors. It was an entirely new book concept. After facing a
series of rejections for more than a year, the work was finally picked up by
one of the leading book publishers in India.
But, I shall
always remain grateful for the constructive feedback that few editors provided
despite rejecting the manuscript. It helped in shaping up the book
tremendously.
Her Master Key: A Hotel Housekeeper’s Stories from
Inn-dia (Rupa Publications)
Today, the
book stands tall on the bookshelves in the august company of written accounts
of well-regarded journalists, ex-armymen, entrepreneurs, politicians, scientists,
travellers, media professionals and social workers.
The industry has
welcomed the book with open arms with comments from Chef Ranveer Brar and Mr. Rattan
Keswani (Deputy Managing Director Lemon Tree Hotels and Former President
Trident Hotels at Oberoi Hotels & Resorts) among countless messages pouring
in from hoteliers, both known and unknown to me.
The book has
also begun to garner the well-deserved public attention for the humble hotel
staff working behind-the-scenes through wide media and digital coverage on
Hindustan Times HT City, The Telegraph, IANS, Yahoo! Lifestyle, Business
Standard, Manorama Online, The Statesman, EeYuva – ETV digital portal, DC Books
(Kairali and Mango Imprints) and blogposts of top travel and book bloggers.
All reviews
speak one voice. They shall never be able to ignore the hotel workers. Not
without a little display of gratitude for the hard work that goes into making
their stay comfortable.
My story is incredible
ordinary but I firmly believe that the story of every hotelier is INCREDIBLE!
Read More:
http://www.theiwh.com/the-incredible-ordinary-small-town-girl-by-shruti-
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