At the break of dawn, when the air becomes heavy with the smell of soap and begins to buzz with the sound of cloth beaten against stone, Chotelal Jogi knows it’s time to wake up. This is how his days have started for the last 46 years. Since he moved to Mumbai from his village in Uttar Pradesh, the 62-year-old man has been not only a dhobh, or washerman, but like many others working at the world’s biggest open-air laundry in Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Dhobhi Ghat, also a tourist subject.
Sprawled across 15-acres and housing nearly 3,000 families, the Mahalaxmi Dhobhi Ghat is a fascinating network of laundry services smack in the middle of the city. The 140-year-old, 736 washing pen site was built by the British and still holds its original charm. A labyrinth of narrow lanes opens to stone pens, tiny ironing boards, one-room houses, and roofs converted to drying areas with propped up ropes and bamboo sticks. Mahalaxmi Dhobhi Ghat washes, bleaches, dries and irons about one million items of clothing every day. It also held the Guinness World Record of ‘the most people (496) hand-washing clothes simultaneously at a single location’ (a record broken by a Procter & Gamble stunt in South Africa).
The ghat’s architectural elements coupled with its unique culture makes it one of the top tourist spots in the city of Mumbai. This year, to allow tourists to get an aerial view of the Dhobhi Ghat, the Brihunmumbai Municipality Corporation (BMC), Mumbai’s civic body, put up a viewing gallery on a bridge adjoining the Mahalaxmi station.
But what has the richest civic body in South Asia done for the welfare of these dhobis, apart from exhibiting their profession to the tourists?
“Not much,” mutters Chotelal Jogi. Having spent most of his life at the dhobhi ghat, the old man has always taken pride in showcasing this heritage to the tourists. “But maybe the money should benefit us too,” he says.
A Drooping Economy
The Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat is made up of migrants from the states of Uttar Pradesh and Telangana, who moved to Mumbai’s in search of better employment opportunities. This migration still continues. “This place has become overcrowded and competitive. Work and income for everyone has reduced,” says Sarhad Ali, another washman working at th dhobi ghat.
To supplement, some dhobis act as guides to foreigners, showing them around and giving them an intimate look into their lives. Now though, the viewing gallery has disrupted this practice. “Hardly any tourists come down and explore the ghat now,” says Ajeet Pevekar, who has been a guide for the last two decades.
Bali, a former dhobi whose right arm became dysfunctional after an accident, echoes his sentiments. He recently guided his first party in days — an American couple, the Connors from Florida–and says working as a guide is his only source of income. “I struggled and learned English for this,” he says.
The Tourist Gaze
The ethics of slum tourism are debatable. Mumbai’s slum pockets include one of the largest in the world, Dharavi, which attracts tourists who romanticize poverty porn. A similar pattern seems to unfold in the Dhobhi ghat where the tourists who do make their way down to see the dhobis lives up close often peer into personal spaces, obstruct daily routines, and uphold a savior complex.
Still, most washermen don’t seem bothered. “We don’t mind them coming in at all. It is a matter of pride for us,” says Srinivas, who has just finished ironing a fresh batch of clothes.
“Sometimes they click pictures of us without asking. I found it a bit weird at first, but now I hardly respond,” says 35-year-old Asha Kanojia, adding that dhobis have “other things to worry about.”
Tough Working Conditions and Professional Hazards
The dhobis of Mahalaxmi start their day by washing clothes at the pen as early as 4 a.m. Wearing lungis or shorts they are knee deep in water and detergent, flogging each piece of cloth on stone. The clothes are then bleached if needed, dried, ironed, folded, and transported back to the clients. The process begins again in the evening.
“Direct exposure of the skin to contaminated water and chemicals usually causes skin infections,” says Jogi. Sitting atop a wooden bench near the washing pens, holding his knees to his chest, Jogi points to toenails that are soggy and chipped. “But we get no medical benefits.”
Most washermen choose to ignore their ailments. “It’s a professional hazard that we need to deal with. Who will put in money again and again for treatment?” asks Munnala, another dhobi.
The ghat is not only a working space for the dhobis, but also their living quarters. Its alleys attracts rats and the ghat can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, especially during the monsoon. While they are often visited by community doctors to conduct malaria and dengue fever tests, the dhobis want special health plans in government hospitals.
Despite a drooping economy and poor health conditions, the Mahalaxmi Dhobhi Ghat still has an annual turnover of almost one billion INR, or about $1,434,450. The cheap rates attract most hospitals, hotels, restaurants, and families in the area. Several garment dealers also send second-hand clothes to be washed, dyed, and sold as new.
To increase efficiency, a few dhobis have brought in machines to automate the process, but they’re placed close to the living quarters and a potential fire hazard. On top of that, gas line connections aren’t readily available.
“We need boiling water for our operations, but with no gas connections, we have to resolve to collect wood and putting in a fire to boil water. The government is worried about fire hazard but they do not give us our space, nor gas connections,” says Rakesh.
Claiming Space and Saving Legacy
The Mahalaxmi Dhobhi Ghat has a 140-year-old legacy and heritage status, though several of its heritage precincts have been lost to urbanization.
“A lot of our space, including our indoor drying area that we need during the monsoon, is being held by private developers such as Omkar and Piramal realtors,” says Rakesh Choudhary, a member of the Mahalaxmi Dhobhighat Charitable Trust and the Indian Youth Congress. Holding up documents that clearly state the land’s allocation to dhobis, he blames the BMC for feeding off of contractors and giving up land.
So far, the BMC has demolished more than 150 structures. According to a report in The Hindustan Times, “the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) has started a redevelopment project on a 12.5-acre plot, which includes refurbishing the open laundry. The joint venture between Omkar Realtors and Piramal Realty, costing Rs4,000 crore, will not only rehabilitate more than 2,100 dhobi and non-dhobi families but also provide advanced indoor drying facilities by 2021.”
But the dhobis aren’t so sure.
“These rehabilitation plans exist only on paper. So many families will lose their homes and livelihoods. Mumbai will lose its heritage, its iconic tourist site,” says Rakesh.
“We all know no rehabilitation and redevelopment is going to happen for us. In the 45 years that I have been here, hardly anything has been done for our welfare,” says Chotelal Jogi.
Their fears could be confirmed.
“The BMC upon survey has given a go-ahead to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority [SRA] to carry out the redevelopment. 1,116 out of 1,513 slum dwellers in dhobhi ghat do not have the necessary papers required to be rehabilitated,” said a senior BMC official from G-South Ward in Mumbai, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Hoping Against Hope — Elections
These issues have been raised as India undergoes the world’s largest elections this month. Many dhobis are disappointed with the current government’s incumbent policies and intolerance toward minorities.
“Undivided by extremist ideologies, dhobis of all faiths, caste, and religion live here in peace,” says a dhobi named Kanubai. “We have no separate territories and we celebrate all religions.
On policy, Jogi says the goods and services tax and demonetization, along with inflation, has “caused harm to our business in unimaginable ways.”
Still, only a few candidates have made rounds in the ghat to understand the plight of the dhobis. One of them is the Congress MLA candidate from south Mumbai, Milind Deora, who has held several cleanliness drives and hygiene workshops.
“Apart from encouraging cleanliness, we are also trying to resist the SRA development plan. The Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat is a heritage site and needs to be protected. This would be one of the major issues we would be working towards if Congress assumes office,” says Aditi Jain, Vice President of All India Professional Congress from South Mumbai who worked closely on hygiene campaigns with Deora.
In spite of apathy from political leaders, as the day turns to dusk, the smell of detergent still lingers in the air. The drying clothes still flutter in the light evening breeze and the sound of cloth flogging on stones still echoes. Only now, it is accompanied by a regional song blaring from a loudspeaker the community has installed. The dhobis sing along, preserving their livelihoods for as long as they can.
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