The dhobi or laundry and iron man in India is an institution in himself. In fact a dhobi caste exists and is recognized and scheduled by the government as a caste in need of empowerment.
With the age of the washing machine and dhobis turning to more educated and respectable professions - (they have special privileges and education and job allotments,) fewer dhobis remain in the fray.
There was once a time when every one (except for the economically backward) used the services of a dhobi.
The dhobi man came to your house on his bicycle to collect your weekly laundry . Everything from linen, to all sorts of garments , kitchen cloths, bed covers, sheets curtains even under wear (if you so wanted) was unloaded from the family 's laundry closet or bag by the dhobi. He would then seperate each item according to its nature and gather them into orderly piles. The lady of the house would then come out with a laundry book in which she had a list of all the clothes to be washed . As she called out the name of the item, the dhobi would count the number and and tell the memsahib. She would then enter it in her laundry book. For example
Saris -5
Towels - 8
Shirts - 11
Tablecloths (big)- 2
Tablecloths (small) -5 and so forth.
After that the dhobi would lay out the freshly washed and ironed clothes which he had taken last week and lay them out neatly on a clean spread or carpet. Then the accounting would begin in reverse order. This ritual would be repeated once or twice a week.
The dhobis were very honest and reliable, but occasionally clothes would disappear. Everyone had a family dhobi. Ours was an ancient man who died several years ago. His sons all have very good jobs and no one pursued this lowdown laborious profession.
The dhobiji would carry the laundry wrapped up in a large cotton sheet on the back of his bicycle. They also used donkeys - specially to transport laundry to the dhobi ghat ( community washing areas) or riverside .
The clothes would be pressed with a charcoal fired iron box, they had modern electric irons too.
Now of course with modernization set in, very few dhobis are around. They are more expensive too. Laundry women (dhobins) can come to your house and do your laundry by hand, then take the dry clothes (in the evening) to be ironed in their homes. And then there are the advanced , state of the art dry cleaners and laundries.
In the good old days I was given the chore of maintaining the laundry book. It was fun. I miss them old times - the smell and touch of the dhobi 's laundry.
Just down the down from our gate a iron man sets up his street business.
He presses people 's clothes. Different rates for each item. He is using the ancient iron, filled with charcoal embers. I sometimes give him the more tricky clothes to iron like cotton and silk saris. He does an excellent job.
( the above 3 photos were shot by me)
Did any one of you use a laundry man like him?
PS
This morning my Sheeba (dog) killed
a field rat - a huge one.
Well done Sheeba-
she ' s really in the hunting mood now.
We are harvesting lots of tomatoes .
When (no ifs here) you come to visit me
I will give you a bag full.
Soon instead of blood I will
be having tomato juice running
in my veins.
I am making lots of puree to preserve.
18 Fertilize my soul:
Very interesting..My dad brought home a Vietnamese iron very similar to the one that you pictured....its very heavy...and has a rooster at the top...
in the States we all mostly do our own laundry...of course, there are laundromats and dry cleaners also..
What an interesting post about your culture. We have a couple of old irons similar to the one used in the pictures, that we got when we were living in Spain.
I have a washing machine, but I hang the laundry to dry on lines outdoors. Love the scent of sun dried laundry.
FlowerLady
This iron is like iron of my grandmother, which had also her grandmother - it could have about 100 years and what is more interesting - it could work even today :)
Sometimes I think - what will happen, if we suddenly wouldn't have electricity? Today in Europe almost everything is based on electricity. What if we won't have it, for example because of big flood or other natural disaster? People like man from Your photoes probably wouldn't feel it. But we probably could have even hunger or war.
There used to be women who took ironing into their homes as a way to make extra money....don't hear of it much anymore though...I don't think many any own a iron and ironing board these days...I do though :)
Blessings to you dear Amrita.
i just love your posts!
I LOVE it when you post about interesting cultural tidbits like this! thanks!
I didn't have such an individual in my life, but oh would I have loved to! In our house, my sisters and I were the 'dhobins', I suppose! After I first married, I was so intent on being a good wife that I ironed even my husbands underwear! Of course, that didn't last long! Loved reading this post about your culture!
Many hugs...........
Diane
Hi Amrita,
Your post reminds me so much of how my grandmother boiled clothes to wash in a huge iron pot hung over a wood fire in her backyard. She used a long wooden club to beat the clothes and stir them in that vat. Also, she made her own lye soap--today, all that is a lost art.
Personally, I stick with wash & wear things.
John
Some people in small villages in our country still use those old irons, Amrita. They are similar to the one Dani described earlier (with a rooster on the top).
In the city where I live, usually people use washing machines. But we can still find a few dhobis here, they are called 'pocokan'.
Dear Amrita,
This is such an interesting post--like all of your post--full of information and neat pictures. I've never used any of those old irons, but I have seen a few as antiques. I iron my own clothes, and sometimes I have thought of how difficult it must be to keep an old iron at the right temperature, and keep the charcoal ashes from getting on your whites, etc.
Thanks Amrita for stopping by and commenting on my story. I am really enjoying that A-Z project :-)
Doris
Fresh tomatoes! Like sunshine to this winter-saturated soul. It is April and yet we have the possibility of more snow tomorrow. Will this season never end?!
You have a lovely bag, Amrita. I thoroughly enjoyed this post!
Pearl
Hello Pearl, welcome to my blog. Thank you for your sweet comment. Please come over and take some tomatoes from me.
We never had anyone like your laundry man in the USA that I can remember. I do remember a person on our street who took in ironing for extra money. We called her "the ironing lady"
Good for Sheba the rat killer! :-)
Brings back childhood memories :-)
I'm back in LA.
How r u doing,dear?
Hi MD, gla d to hear you are back home. Trust Mahima and mother are doing well.
The information is very useful!
Dry Cleaning Services In Janak Puri
Dry Cleaners In Dwarka
Dry Cleaning Service In Dwarka
I LOVE it when you post about interesting cultural tidbits like this! thanks!Clothes Irons
Post a Comment