The laundry bays of Delhi are evolving with the times. Photo: Vikas Choudhary/CSE
Environment

The evolving Dhobi Ghats of Delhi

From hand-scrubbed clothes on stone slabs to mechanised washers and dryers, Delhi’s dhobi ghats walk in the future while holding on to the past

Vikas Choudhary

The dhobi ghats or laundry bays of Delhi are evolving with the times.

Pandav Nagar/Ganesh Nagar in the national capital is home to a local, functional, and traditional open-air laundry area. Here, professional launderers wash clothes they get from homes, hospitals and local businesses.

From hand-scrubbed clothes on stone slabs to mechanised washers and dryers, the launderers use traditional as well as modern methods.

The Pandav Nagar dhobi ghat has also learnt to move on with the times. Though its launderers still use traditional washing methods, many also use integrated, large, industrial washing machines and dryers for efficiency.

Blending past with the present is the story of an evolving India itself.

The dhobi ghat in Pandav Nagar is thus a microcosm of an evolving India, one which is learning to change with the times, even as it holds on to remnants of its past.