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Music

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INTRO

When most people think of domestic servants working in the big cities of a country like India they imagine bonded labour, which is illegal… where girls are prised from their families in remote villages, only to be beaten or maltreated by their employers.

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 But there’s a whole world of domestic workers who don’t fit that mould. Alone in the big cities, separated from their families for whatever reason, they find a home in exchange for work, and are not unhappy. In a country like India, where hundreds of millions of people struggle to eat, sometimes you’re grateful just to have a roof over your head. Some might call it slavery, but for many it’s a priceless social net.

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Music Tenten Films

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Saturday Morning

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I was working in Bangalore

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About one and half years ago

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And then we decided to come back to Bombay

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So when we were leaving from there

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loki did not have a place to stay

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And we had a choice of finding her another place

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I did not want to send her anywhere else

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Because I was afraid she'd get ill treated or people wouldn't under stand her

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This is one of the reasons I decided to keep her

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It's like she's part of the family

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She considers the house and the dogs and the pets as her own

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And she takes care of everything like you would take care of your own house

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Music

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What are you trying to get? That thing right up there?

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Yeah

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Can you manage?

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I'll manage!

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Do you do this everyday?

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yeah

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come down

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So Loki,we're on the second day of shoot now.

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Yeah

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Did you have fun yesterday

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Yeah

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It was good fun? Yeah

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Hmm

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Why don’t you look into this camera and say my name is Loki

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Yeah

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Hmm

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Can yo do that

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Yeah I'll do that

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Okay, so look into this camera an wave

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And smile

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This camera

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My name is Loki

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Not Loki, sorry Lakshmi!

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My name is Lakshmi

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I enjoyed my self yesterday Okay

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And say I'm the star

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I'm starting now. Okay

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Good

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So you had fun yesterday?

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Hmm very fun yesterday

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What was your favorite part?

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What did you like about yesterday

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I like everything

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U liked everything

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U liked the cameras?

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U liked everything

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So your okay with the cameras on you? Talking and everything? that's ok?

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yeah

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the cameras are no problem then

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do you think she had some sort of horrific past?

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Why do you think she is the way she is?

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We've seen maid servants all over the place

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Yeah

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There's a certain normalcy to them

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And she's a bit eccentric in a way

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That would be because probably

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I don’t know. I've not actually been able to find out the story

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You know exactly, although I've tried

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I think she was sent out at a very early age

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And you know,s he did not have exactly a family life

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She was probably sent to work very young

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So basically I don’t think she was developed

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Do you think you know there are a lot of girls

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Who get sold by their families for two or three rupees

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So do you think that's the case with her?

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Possibly

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She doesn't seem to want to talk about it, and she just gives weird answers

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But it's definitely possible generally.

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Because if it wasn't like that, she wouldn't have been here and she would have left her house

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At the age of 20

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Do you know that every year

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Every year

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Hundreds of Adivasi (tribal) girls that small

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are

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They pay money for the Adivasi girls and they get then to Bombay

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Do you know that

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Somebody who's house I was working in that time

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Some one who's house you were working in

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The Adivasi one girl ok

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So they got a small girl?

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Yeah

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They paid money also, huh?

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Me

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No I'm asking

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Which is her favorite channel

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Huh?

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This channel only. I like this one

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You like this channel

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yeah

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You know what it's called

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She's part of the gang I should say. More than the family

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Yeah and you think there'd be a time when you can imagine that Loki wasn't a part of this family?

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I really can't because if Loki wasn't here then I'd wonder where Rahul would stay

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Because this wouldn't be a house any more

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You’re all dressed up today looking very nice

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Hmm. Yeah. Superb

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Unclear

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Yeah. Definitely

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No

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So you have your dentures in today Your dentures?

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So when did you get the dentures?

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Did Rahul take you to the dentist

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Yeah

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He took you to the dentist

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How many times did he take you

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Many times

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Many times he took me

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And you had to get your teeth pulled and everything right. Some teeth

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Some of your teeth had to be pulled

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In Bangalore

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Bangalore

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In Bangalore they were pulled?

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But the dentures were here

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Did it hurt when they pulled your teeth

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Pardon

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Did it hurt when they pulled your teeth out

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Yeah

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Little bit it hurt

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For how long did it hurt?

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Five Minutes

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Only five minutes? Your strong

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It's like so many small things she does out of her own free will, that makes me feel nice

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It's like actually having a parent or a mother looking after you

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Music

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You were in Darjeeling, small girl, how did you get to Calcutta

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Gone there myself

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Not myself

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You went own your own

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Some one got to Darjeeling and that time I coming here

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And some gone there

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Ah some one went and took you from Darjeeling

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yeah

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Did you want to leave

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Now

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No then! Did you want to. How did that person take you? Did that person take you against your will?

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He's old man

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Was it a woman or man

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Man

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And were you happy? Was he a good man

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No

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I was very young

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This one

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Old

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Did you know him

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Did you know the man? Was he your uncle? Was he a stranger?

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No stranger

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No he was not a stranger

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Unclear

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No one's allowed to speak to her badly

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No one's allowed to ask her to do anything with out asking me first

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Sit no sit down do you want to sit

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No that's Ok

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You sit down no

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I'm fine

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You like cricket

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I known people who worked in government office 25-30 years

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Who haven't picked up anything. You Know she speaks it perfectly

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apart from the speech impediment

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May be she was interested in it she liked it

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So because of that she picked it up

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Do you not think that is some sort of a that you require some sort of talent

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I mean a lot of people like a lot of things

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Her employers must have always communicated with her in English, may be that' why she speaks it so well

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English Music

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English Music you like English Music?

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Yeah

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Which is better Hindi or English music

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You like Hindi music or English music more?

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Both

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You like Michael Jackson

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Do you have any boy friends

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I'm not going to open my mouth

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You don’t wanna open your mouth

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Does she join in when you'll celebrate or is she?

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Oh yeah she's very much a part of our Christmas celebration in fact if you look at the snaps we got she's very much in there.

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Do you ever think that you can stay any where else now?

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No

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Not at all

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No

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Do you like all of Rahul's friends?

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Everyone

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Yeah

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Every friend

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do you like celebrating Christmas with them

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Yeah

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do you feel like your part of the family

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Part of the family also

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You'll are a bunch of twenty year olds, in your early twenties

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do you think this serves as an example to the people all over Bombay who employ domestic help?

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It should

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And you know don’t really treat them properly

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Yeah they don't

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Shopping

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shopping? You want to go shopping

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Buy something

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What do you want to buy

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What do you think is important that people understand about having domestically

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especially abusive people who employ children 12/13 years old

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I think one people should definitely not employ children because

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One that's against the law, so that's absolutely out of it

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But when your talking about domestic help, I think

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Because if you're getting help from outside it only helps if you treat them like a part of your family

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Because I don’t understand how somebody would want to treat you well or take care of your house

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or anything if you're not going to make them part of your family

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Music

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See in the mirror over there

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You don’t like this

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you tried this

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Take the other one out first

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This one but with out stones plain like the kind she's wearing

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Tell him do you want a bangle? Or do you want a pendant

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He doesn’t have earrings

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can't we go to the other shop?

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Other shop? Now where will we get some other shop

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If you want more shine, you can get it

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What do you think Loki

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How do you open it? It

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see open this way

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There this chain I will fix it. It will not fall out

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It's like bracelet

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This not goin to keep

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No

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What happened? Your not able to wear

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No

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why what's the problem?

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Nothing problem!

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I didn't get you what are you saying

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She's say she doesn't like it

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You don’t like it

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wear it I like it wear it

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This one from me

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Take I'll fix the chain and give you

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Take this earring

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Good earring see tops

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Do you like this earring

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Take it wear it don’t worry

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These are pretty you don't like them? I like these they have diamonds in them

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Diamonds are forever Come on

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Take it take it no charge

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He's giving you as a gift

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Why

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Nah I don't want

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It’s a gift

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Its free

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Take

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How can you say no to gold

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Take a son is giving you

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He's saying your like his son, come on take it

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Thank you

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Bless him now God bless you

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See already a star now! People are giving you gifts

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Wear it now

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Now you’re a film star

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Try it there you go

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Wont tissue Come on Loki

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Why are you crying you should be happy I would be happy if someone gave me so many gifts!

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This chain you wanted. You got a Christmas gift from someone

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Music

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Sunday morning

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I like family good family super

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You have a good family

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Tell me about your family

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Your sister your mother

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I don't have any sister now

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When we were small children no? that time she died that time I’m there no?

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My mother house

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That time my sister there. Everyone is there

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That time no my sister died

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Do you miss them?

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Don't miss them

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Did you used to miss your family

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I'm missing my family, but now what to do?

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missing my family

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I can't go there now

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No How come?

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Who'll take you? Nobody takes you

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There's no one there anymore? Nobody there now

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Who'll take me? No one is taking me

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What if some one took you there

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What if some one says ok I'll take you?

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Nobody take you

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What if some one says

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Some one says I'll take you now

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You want to go

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I can't go now

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Do you think as long as you'll be able to feed yourself you'll feed her

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yes absolutely because what she eats I eat, and what I eat she eats the same thing

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So as long as there's food for me there's going to be food for her

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I'm her best friend

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she likes me the best among all of Rahul's friends

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You better say yes to that I know

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She say she likes to draw and she dabbles all of that yeah

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Do you think that's like a child

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You know because all these years she's not been allowed to watch TV

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And she's not been allowed to she's been made to live like a servant

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And just like a child when you get that first freedom

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You start experimenting with stuff and fi you look at her drawings

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They are they are very childish

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They're almost like a person touching ( a pen for the first time)

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She does know how to write

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I've tried teaching her

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Her hand doesn't move, I've tried many times

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She cannot write, she's not picking up the writing skills

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so Rahul says you have a bank account

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Do you have an account in the bank?

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Must be I have no in the corporation bank over here

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You have an account Yeah

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You put money there

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Before I had put money

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so now you don’t put money in there

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No I don’t put

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why

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You know you should always save your money

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No I can't keep it now in the bank I keep it in my hand

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You keep it in your hands

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Before I put it this was long back

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Okay

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Now I can't put it I can't

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What do you think she does with what ever she earns her salary and everything

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Nothing

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Have you ever encouraged her to start a bank account

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I have

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And what's her take on that

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She wants to start it so shortly I will

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Starting a bank account

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But according to me she already had one

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With her previous employer it was in one of those local banks

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with her name and you know

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She can't write so her thumb impression was given

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So I had actually gone to the bank trying to search for her account

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But I don’t know what bank it was

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I searched in 3-4 banks which she says looks familiar

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But I could not find her name anywhere

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They searched their systems they couldn't find anything

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She say she does not have a last name so

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She does have a last name her name is Lakshmi Sonami

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She says she doesn't like to shout and harass people

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Unclear

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She says she likes it when people come over

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And she makes them sit down and gives them water she likes to do that

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and then she talks to them

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That's nice Yeah

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You want to make sure everyone’s comfortable in the home Yeah

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That's very sweet

0:27:05,17

So what we're going to do today is we're going to buy some sweets

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Pedas (Indian sweets and all that) okay

0:27:16,01

And we're going to give them to children, do you want to do that

0:27:20,08

Little children who don’t have parents? Ah

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So we'll give them sweets, do you want to give them sweets?

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Do you think there's a lot people can learn from Loki

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Yeah of course she's not the smartest person in the world

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she may not be the richest person in the world

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And that's more than you can say for many people

0:27:43,16

Music

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Sing Happy birthday Lakshmi

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Clapping and saying happy birthday

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Music

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It could have been torture it could have been a sad situation

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what ever it is there's absolutely no point bringing up the past because I think she's absolutely happy over here

0:30:12,12

So there's no point depressing some for no reason

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If she wants to go definitely

0:30:15,16

If she wants to go definitely

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If she tells me Rahul I want to go to Darjeeling

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And I want to see my house definitely

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I'll plan a trip probably take a couple of friends along and we'll make a trip out of it

0:30:31,09

she can show me what all she remembers That is not an issue

0:30:34,15

But until she actually wants to go there I can't do it

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I'm not going to go down a road that she doesn't want to

0:30:42,13

How do you celebrate Holi

0:30:44,97

Putting Rang (Colour) here on my face

0:30:48,03

You put colour all over?

0:30:49,20

The face on your face

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Full body

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Is it fun yes

0:30:00,01

Where do you go to play Holi

0:31:03,15

I play with some one else

0:31:08,13

where do you play? I play with someone else!

0:31:13,04

with someone else

0:31:14,16

Its good fun - which colour do you like the best?

0:31:20,23

Red Red like your skirt

0:31:23,05

So you have red all over your face? Yeah

0:31:30,05

Music

0:31:46,05

My feet took a walk in heavenly grass all day while the sky shone clear as glass, My feet took a walk in heavenly grass all night while the lonesome stars rolled past. (Music)

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Then my feet come down to walk on earth and my mother cried when she gave birth

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Now my feet walk far and my feet walk fast but they still got an itch for heavenly grass

0:32:31,00

But they sill got an itch for heavenly grass

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Avery special thanks you to Loki, Virshah, Kyle, Ahsar, Joel, Aaron, Ian & Rahul (Music)

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You are all an inspiration (Music)

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Names (Music)