Dhobi

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A dhobi is a washerman in Pakistan and India.

[edit] Scope and job

Dhobi's usually run door to door collecting dirty linen from households. After a day or two, they return the linen washed, sometimes starched and ironed. Dhobis were the forerunners to modern professional dry cleaners. Since the dhobi charges are much lower than dry cleaners, they are popular with most households. Dhobis are often pictured with a donkey as their beast of burden carrying the bales of linen on its back.

Each dhobi marks a unique symbol or character on garments belonging to a particular household. This is marked in black indelible ink to prevent it from being washed off. Dhobis may wash the clothes themselves or outsource it to dhobis who only wash clothes.

[edit] Associated places and terms

In Mumbai, dhobis are an integral feature of the city. All the dhobis wash their linen in the Mahalaxmi area known as Dhobi Ghat. This area is strangely popular with foreign tourists looking for a piece of quintessential Indianness. Another region in South Mumbai, Dhobitalao, used to be a (now filled up) lake where British soldiers used to have their uniforms washed about 120 years ago.

There are also streets called Dhoby Ghaut in Singapore and Penang (Malaysia), where Indian dhobis used to carry out their ancestral business.

Dhobi remains British Armed Forces slang for washing (i.e. "Doing your Dhobi"). In addition, washing powder is known as Dhobi Dust.

Dhobi itch is a slang term for jock itch.