South Dhobikhana City’s Laundry Service

Team Chronicle

Beyond the posh neighbourhood of Maddox Square, a wooden board leads you to rows of washing blocks where numerous bare-chested washermen would be seen pounding, rinsing & wringing clothes and innumerable rows of clothes are spread out for drying. Welcome to the century-old South Dhobikhana – the largest in the country where dirty linen is washed in public, literally.

The Bazaar – USP
The South Dhobikhana is known for its quality work and reasonable rates which definitely comprise the unique selling point of this huge public launderette. Set up on 24 acres of land, this ‘largest’ dhobikhana has outshined its counterparts in Mumbai, Chennai as well as Delhi.

“We are proud to say that our dhobikhana is the best in India. The dhobikhanas in Mumbai and Delhi cannot match up to the size and scale of operations, hard-work and the service provided to our customers. We use water which is free from iron and hence the clothes are spotlessly clean after wash. Not even a speck of dirt remains behind when the clothes are delivered after being washed and ironed in the dhobi khana,” says Dilip Das.

The charges are amazingly low. If your local washerman charges you INR 30 for a bed sheet, a dhobi here will charge only INR 15 and be assured that the job would be of superior quality. Actually, most of the local washermen and dry cleaners serving various neighbourhoods outsource their service to this Dhobikhana. “So it is we who actually do the washing while they levy extra charges on the customers,” revealed a dhobi.

Apart from individual customers, hotels, restaurants, clubs, salons, railways, gyms and households among other establishmkents also utilise the services of the South Dhobikhana. The clothes are generally collected by the dhobis, no matter how far the place is. All modes of transport including vans, bike, cycle and rickshaw are used to carry clothes to and from the customer depending upon the distance and the quantum of clothes.

History
The South Dhobikhana was established by the British Government in 1902. Calcutta was then the capital city of British India and hence the largest dhobikhana was set up to serve the various government departments and agencies. The dhobis were provided with all the necessities and around 108 separate open-air concrete washing blocks were constructed to wash huge piles of clothes regularly. The dhobis who worked during the British era left their jobs to their successors and today many families have pursued the same profession through generations.

South Dhobikhana
The Dhobikhana, situated in the remote interiors of the southern part of the city, is hard to locate, unless one is aware of its existence. In order to reach the South Dhobikhana drive straight from Hazra Road – Ritchie Road crossing towards Maddox Square. Thereafter, from Ritchie Road take the second insignificant lane on right adjcent to the boundary wall of St. Lawrence School; a wooden board, inscribed with ‘South Dhobikhana’, marks the entrance. On entering you would notice settlements on both sides of the cluttered, dingy lane. A short distance away you would be greeted by a strong scent of soaps and detergents. As you move ahead, you would come across a number of dhobis pounding clothes to remove the dirt. The washing area is flanked by open areas on both sides where clothes are hung to dry under the sun. There are 10 sheds where dry clothes are dumped for ironing.

The 108 open-air concrete wash blocks are divided into nine rows, each row having 20 blocks where dhobis wash the clothes. There are around 108 bhatis (coal stoves) to boil the clothes in hot water.  Earlier there were 180 bhatis but the number has come down to only 100 odd nowadays, reported Rabi Das, a dhobi.

Water Supply
The dhobikhana receives clean and iron-free water from the municipality through three large water pipes. Water is generally supplied from Tala Tank from 7 to 9 AM in the morning and 4 to 6 PM in the evening. There are two big brass taps installed during British era and still in use. The tap connected to the well has an inlet which then supplies water to the 108 washing blocks. There are also reservoirs where water is stored by the dhobis to complete day’s chores and tide over any crisis when the minicipal pipes run dry.

Method
As unbelievable as it may sound but dhobis work almost round the clock. They start at 4 AM in the morning and continue till midnight. The work is done in three stages. At first, clothes are soaked in soapy water overnight. Next morning, these are taken out and pounded on the concrete washing area. In the second phase, clothes are rinsed in clean water to get rid of the dirty lather. In the third phase, clothes are rinsed in fresh water and dumped on big pots. Thereafter, these are scrubbed vigorously with a medley of soaps, chemicals, soda and bleach as required.

Sometimes when clothes are too filthy with rigid oil stains, these are soaked in water with detergent and soda, placed in layers in boiling water over the bhatis to remove oil stains and dirt. The most dirty and oil stained clothes are placed at the centre while others are layered at the flanks. After clothes are treated in the bhatis, they undergo the three phase cleaning process. A bhati needs around 25 kg coal and five litres of water for each batch of clothes.

Each well has a water outlet system, kept covered till a dhobi is done with his clothes. Then he drains out the used water. It is again refilled by another dhobi with water stored in the reservoirs.

In case of urgency, clothes are sometimes put into hydro machine – a manually operated machine to dry clothes. These machines are big, made with steel and having a hand roller on the side. After clothes are put, the lid of the machine is closed and by rolling the hand roller, excess water is drained out, leaving the clothes to dry in just an hour. Finally, the clothes are washed in absolutely clean water and dried under the sun by hanging them on nylon ropes. “Initially we used to hang the clothes on coconut fibre-ropes but now we use nylon ropes to avoid any smear, especially during the monsoon”, remarked a dhobi.

The clothes are dried on the two large fields inside the dhobikhana premises. Thick nylon ropes are tied to wooden posts. There are around 10 such sets in a field. After the clothes are dried, they are stored under the sheds. The dhobis carry it to their respective places and iron it without leaving a wrinkle, which are then delivered to the customers.

According to Rabi Das, “Dhobis existed since the British era but still many people tend to visit the local laundries apprehending that dhobis would ruin their clothes. But they are unaware that the dry cleaners send the clothes to us and charge the customers a higher amount. We do not ruin their clothes; instead we wash with care, leaving them spotlessly clean. Yet, it is very disheartening when the customers don’t trust us and even if they come to us, they start bargaining no matter how less our charges are.”

Dhobis
Most of the dhobis have been in the business for generations, starting from the time their ancestors were recruited by their British masters to clean uniforms and linens. “There are around 3,000-3,500 dhobis working in this dhobikhana. Around 300-350 of them work regularly. Many of them work part-time or on alternative days depending upon the availability of the washing areas and the bhatis”, said Rabi. However, their earnings are meagre compared to the back breaking task involved, complained many of them. “I don’t want my son to join this profession. I want him to be a doctor and so I am trying to fund his education by working overtime,” said one of the dhobis. Most of the dhobis hail primarily from the interiors of Bihar. None of them are permanent workers. They work for six to seven months and return to their native land during their festivals. Each dhobi earns according to the number of clothes fetched by them. They are also engaged by various agencies under long-term contracts for the job.  The profit margin is quite slender as the dhobis charge quite less despite the rising inflation.

It is quite astonishing that the ‘South Dhobikhana’ – a colonial legacy, continues to be a laborous existence even in the era of fancy, automated washing machines.