Dirty Cleaning

"It's not that I became a Dhobi (launderer), I am a Dhobi, my father was a Dhobi. My children are Dhobis. We were all born Dhobis." (Ram Kishan, Indian Dhobi)

Along India’s rivers, lakes, and streams the slap of wet linen against rock is a common sound; the banks of India’s waterways are work places of India’s launderers, which have earned their living for centuries by washing the clothing and linens of India’s households. These washer men and women, locally known as Dhobis, are usually members of India’s lowest caste, Rejaka or “the untouchables”. Traditionally those born into a specific caste cannot change profession and have to accept their position in a society that prohibits upward movement between the different castes. Despite the high levels of pollutants and debris now contaminating the country’s waters, Dhobis continue to rely on India’s waterways to do the country’s washing just as the country relies upon them to keep their clothes clean. Regardless, their trade is now being threatened by the introduction of the automatic washing machines to middle class homes. As India becomes increasingly modernized the Dhobis are seeking out new jobs in a bid to make a living for themselves and their families.

The first group of pictures was taken during the summer in a small dirty stream in Arambol in the Goa region. When I inquired of how they could wash clothing in those filthy waters they simply answered me: ”But during the monsoon the water is clean and we still need to work even in summer time.”

The second group of pictures was taken on the banks of the Chitravati river in Puttaparthi, the birthplace and home of the spiritual teacher Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The river is regarded like the new holy Ganga, since Sai Baba used to bathe in it and sang Bhajans (Spiritual songs) on its banks. Most of the year the river is almost dry but the Dhobis continue to work even in the tiniest stream of water.

Deborah Sinai