THOSE ONCE IN THE SERVICE OF KINGS

Dotted throughout Bangalore are Dhobi Ghats. Forests of sheets, shirts and pants. Row upon row nestled amongst Bangalore’s suburbia. Hiding among the flowing linen are detergent stained pools where the Madiwala or “Dhobis” go about their business. Madiwala in Kannada means washermen. Traditionally the laundry men of Maharajas, they now service the laundry needs of hospitals, hotels and whoever else comes with bundles of washing in arm.

Within the confines of these linen forests, the Madiwala scurry about with chaotic precision. An orchestra of movement as they wash the clothing in their care.
Nanaskimaraju, an elderly man with curly sleeked back hair and a stubbly beard remembers when once. The chorus of the Madiwala at work could be heard throughout Bangalore.

Having lived in the suburb of Madiwala (justly named after the Dhobi) his whole life. Nanaskimaraju remembers when the hum of the washermen hammering cloth against stone could be heard five kilometres away. Long before the sporadic symphony of horns Bangalore now performs for those who wander her streets.

The Madiwala Dhobi Ghat is running out of water. It gets its water from a refill well just outside of its gates.

“When I was a child, I could scoop the water from the well with my hands.” Nanaskimaraju recalls.

Now you could fit a van inside the well without it breaking the water’s surface. To a sub-caste with its roots in a profession that relies almost solely on water. The possibility of a dry well is an uneasy prospect.

The Dhobi Ghats don’t advertise for workers. For generations sons have followed in their father’s footsteps. Hanumanthu, a Dhobi all his life, is seeing the younger generation break this cycle. His children are going off to university in the hopes of becoming doctors or lawyers he says. As water dries up and future workforce abandons ship. The future looks bleak for the Madiwala.

To the south, Ulsoor Dhobi Ghat is moving in the opposite direction. As water shortages ravage Bangalore. Ulsoor Dhobi Ghat, like many was built on a bore well. With a constant supply of water, they’re able to continue not only operating. But they also allow the local residents to come and share in their abundance. Krishna, a Dhobi from the Ulsoor Dhobi Ghat has stated that they allow up to twenty families to come and get water from their bore well. Sparing them from having to fork out thousands to call in water tankers.

But as work continues Dhobi’s continue to spend hours a day in detergent filled waters which comes with health effects. Chemicals like Formaldehyde, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Phosphates are common in detergents and can cause serious health and ecological effects.

At the Madiwala Dhobi Ghat, Bangalores oldest and largest. 60,000 litres of water a year is used while washing clothes. Water that is sent down Bangalores waste water run offs. With their STP (sewerage treatment plant) currently out of operation. Their waste water is a free-flowing environmental catastrophe.

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Putta Ranga, the owner of the Dhobi Ghat. Claims that Malleshwarram only uses “Good Chemicals” whereas earlier they incorporated the use of “Bad Chemicals”. This Dhobi Ghat get their chemicals predominantly from Refnol Resins and Chemicals, who in their yearly report states that “Adherence to environmental and pollution control norms as per Gujarat Pollution Control guidelines is of high concern to the Company.”

However, within the Gujarat Pollution Control guidelines there is no mention under either the textile or chemical clauses that rules against the use of any chemicals. Let alone Formaldehyde, Sodium Lauryl Sulphate or Phosphate. When contacted about the chemicals they use in their emulsifiers, softeners and detergents. Refnol, despite advertising their commitment to openness about the chemical composition of their products. Failed to reply at all.

However, Putta also told us about how he used different chemicals to stop chronic dermatological problems that were common among Dhobi workers.

“After ‘95 I am the leader, earlier our peoples were standing in the pools. We are using some chemicals no, and after fifteen to twenty years they become illness. After this (referring to himself coming into ownership of the laundromat) they are healthy.”

However, a report by the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media did a report on skin problems amongst the Dhobi workers, included workers from the Madiwala Dhobi Ghat talking about skin problems from working in the detergent all day. This report was done in 2012. Contradicting Ranga’s claims.

When we tried to talk to the workers when we visited, they were reluctant to say anything to us at all.

With thousands of litres, tainted with ecologically corrosive chemicals spilling into Bangalores drainage systems. A drainage system that then leads to Bangalores lakes, that are already on a precarious tightrope above ecological oblivion.

Additionally, Mr. Ranga after admitting the yearly water usage of his Dhobi Ghat, hastily claimed there were plans in place to start harvesting rain water. When pressed on those plans, he responded by telling us that “There is not enough support from the government.” Not long after boasting of the housing and industrial washing machines of which “Use a little more water.” That the government paid for. Their alibi for an environmental conscience cracked, and the self-destructive use of water by Malleshwarram became piercingly clear.

With bore wells becoming common and recharge wells seemingly becoming as reliable for clean water as Bangalore's chemically tainted lakes. The irresponsibility and short sightedness of the Dhobi, if this trajectory is sustained will ultimately lead to their demise. A social conscience in some Dhobi Ghats like Ulsoor is heart-warming, sure. But the real problem here is how as a business they are using their water and how they are dealing with their waste. Businesses like the Dhobi Ghats need a genuine environmental conscience. However, the allure for profits and a successful business has and most likely will trump the need for a sustainable use of water and usage of detergents and other cleaning products that are environmentally friendly.

The question now stands, will the Dhobi Ghats stand to account for their workers and the environment. Or will they continue on the path they’re on, ignorant and engorged on a lack of self-accountability. One thing is for certain, the Madiwala have fallen far from the grandeur of washing the linen of kings.

Those Once in The Service of Kings: Text