LOCATED between Jalan Air Itam and Jalan York is Dhobi Ghaut, a settlement of traditional Indian laundry cleaning service providers. Ghaut, derived from the Hindi word ghat, refers to a series of steps leading down to a body of water. In this instance, the body of water would be the Sungai Air Terjun.

The traditional Indian laundry cleaning service providers who have been operating there for more than 100 years still employ techniques utilised by the original dhoby men. The laundry, first soaked in sudsy water, is then thrashed on a flogging stone. Depending on the nature of the laundry, starch is used and finally pressed using charcoal irons. Piled into neat bundles, wrapped with swaths of white cloth, the laundry is then delivered to the doorstep. Many of the dhoby men still operate within old wooden structures that may have very well been from generations ago.

Locally known as Vannan Thora Tedal, which literally means the laundry district in Tamil, Dhobi Ghaut is also one of the “earliest settlements of Tamils in Penang. A washerwoman made a good life out of washing clothes for the British and was later prosperous enough to be called Rani Dhobi (Queen of Dhobis). She built the Rama Temple that now stands at Dhoby Ghatt.” (Penang Story Project).

“Somewhere between 1808 and 1811, Ranee Dhoby is said to have sold off a section of the Sungai Pinang riverbank to William Edward Phillips, so that he can have access to the estate of Francis Light which he acquired from James Scott. Phillips then built on the foundation of Light's garden estate the mansion that is now known as Suffolk House. Before she died, Ranee Dhoby created a trust for the building of a temple, to be known as the Ranee Dhoby Koil.” (Penang Travel Tips)

Unfortunately with the onset of modern facilities, the traditional dhoby is a dying trade. The Dhoby Ghaut dhoby men currently only stand at thirteen, definitely a significant drop from the once prosperous era, reminiscent of the dhobi ghats in Mumbai.

References

• Growing Roots: The Story of Tamil Communities in Penang (Penang Story Project)
• Sri Rama Temple (Penang Travel Tips)