Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat
Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat is a well known washers’ area in Mumbai. The washers known locally as Dhobis work in open to wash the cloths from Mumbai’s hotels and hospitals. There are row upon row of open-air concrete wash pens, each fitted with its own flogging stone. Termed as the world’s largest outdoor laundry Dhobi Ghat is a very popular attraction among foreign tourists.
It is located next to Mahalaxmi Station on Western Railway on Saat Rasta roundabout.It is can be easily seen from flyover bridge of Mahalaxmi station.
Quintessentially Bombay – the Dobhi Ghats are where Mumbaiker’s laundry is soaked, slapped, spun, and pressed in this centralised open-air hub spread across 10 acres at Mahalaxmi. Over 700 washing spots (ghats) are leased individually from the municipality and to make the most effective use of them work starts well before sunrise. Clothes are soaked in this multitude of concrete pens then beaten clean against a stone platform at one end. Some items are spun dry while others are hung out in the Mumbai sunshine and pressing is done by either coal burning or electric powered irons. Close to three quarters of a million items from the far reaches of the mega-city are laundered here daily – from hotel linen to handkerchiefs – and are packed and returned to their owners via a coded marking system made in indelible ink on small scraps of cotton and tied to each item. These processes have been honed over the 162 year history of the ghats, which were originally constructed to service British viceroys and officers. Some 5000 Dhobi Wallahs work the ghats – many of whom reside within the compound with their families. The few I met commanded my respect for their dedication. Being a job that is passed on through families, predominantly from Andra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, seems to add a dimension of pride amongst this close knit community. Rather than wearing their hearts on their sleeves they put their hearts into keeping others’ sleeves clean – Meanest Indian
Laundry hanging at Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat. Many of the lines are on a pulley system to enhance the speed of getting through the vast amount of laundry that comes through each day
The wife of dhobi walla at the Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat.
Hanging linen on a roof at the Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat
Systematic marking of clothes at the Dhobi Ghat ensures that garments are returned to their rightful owners from far and wide in the Mumbai area. A significant procedure given that over three quarters of a million items are washed here each day.
A dhobi walla takes a break amongst bundles of saris at the Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat.
Maybe one of the largest outdoor laundries in the world.
Dhobi walli (washer woman) at the Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat.
