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Visit The Biggest Open Air Laundry In The World – Dhobi Ghat





(Image - Bombay Jules)

Constructed in the 1890s, visiting the Mahalakshmi Dhobi Ghat is like a visit to one of the most interesting open-air laundries in the world. The washers, known as dhobis work in the open to clean clothes and linens from Mumbai’s hotels and hospitals and are very easily accessible to the Jacob Circle monorail system. 

Having rows of open-air concrete wash pens – each row is fitted with flogging stones of its own. A popular tourist attraction among foreign tourists who love to walk around the area and get to know more about the community. A visit to Dhobi Ghat is an organised affair and the tour guide is well-versed in Hindi, Marathi and decent English.  

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM_2t-fsDM0

 



(image- iStock) 













Over here you can find hundreds of men with strong and sinewy bodies wading in knee-high water at washing platforms flogging sheets and clothes and women can be seen folding and tagging the pieces for return to their owners and children can be seen playing and running around the area. 




 























This laundry, interestingly holds a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest number of people hand washing clothes at the same time in the same location (496). You can find 5000 washers (known as dhobis) working here and many of them live in adjacent shanties in the area. 





 






















On 27th December 2023, I was lucky to be able to spend the morning exploring Dhobi Ghat and the area. We had a tour guide accompany us around the ghats as we took beautiful pictures and explored the area. Having lived in Mumbai for over 29 years I had never visited but instead decided to visit this place with a friend. 

 


























If you would like to see the city through a different prism, a visit to Dhobi Ghats is essential!

 

 

  

            

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