Etymology
Typically in India, Dhobis call on regular clients, collect their dirty clothes and then take them to the Dhobi Ghats. The name is reminiscent of the famous Dhobi Ghat of Mumbai, India, which has rows of concrete wash pens, each with its own flogging stone. The Dhobi sloshes dirty linen into a soapy water mixture, thrashing them with the flogging stones, and then puts the linen into huge vats of starch. After which being dried, they are ironed and delivered to the owners. This is however not a standard practice of dhobis in general. In a large number of areas in the country, dhobis have migrated to washing machines and dryers, using the modern detergents.
In the more rural parts in India, clothes are taken to the nearest river or canal, preferably one with huge rocks or boulders on the banks and then flogged on these. They are then spread out over the nearest grassy land, and dried.
The word "dhobi" has also entered common usage in Singapore and Malaysia. In Malay, it is spelled "dobi" and means "to wash" or, when combined with kedai ("shop"), refers to a laundromat.
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