16. Describe a memory about cleaning when you were a child.
My favorite childhood memory is when Munni, my housekeeper, would come into my room early in the morning to sweep the floor and turn off the fan. In the tropics, it is a matter of seconds before you are covered with sweat and mosquitoes if the fan is off. She would turn the fan off and then sweep the floor, humming some old Bollywood song tune, and then leave the room without turning on the fan. Sweaty and covered in red bumps, I would toss and turn in my sleep and even beg her to turn the fan on. She would fake deafness. Eventually, when the sweat had drenched my clothes, I would have to get up, and she'd be standing at the threshold with gleaming mischievous eyes and wish me good morning and I would grunt a grumpy response. She was my alarm clock for school.
Arpita
California, USA