By Sidharth Mishra
The 'maid raid' in Sector 78 Noida last week, where domestic helps laid siege to an upmarket housing complex, brought rushing back memories of similar incidents which I have encountered in a nearly quarter-of-a-century-long career as a reporter. The first memory is a rather hilarious one. There was to be a slum camp in Kusumpur Pahadi in South-West district of Delhi close to Vasant Vihar. During one of the demolition drives, the Pahadi residents were shifted to a rehabilitation colony quite far away. I recall a reporter coming with an amusing story the very next day. The bungalows in Vasant Vihar went without cleaning and stoves in the kitchens did not burn as all the maids and cooks had been carted away in the demolition drive. News reports the day after the Noida incident mentioned that the apartments decided to put off their kitchen fire but not let the maids in until those guilty of violence were identified.