A man irons clothes using an iron heated by charcoal

A man ironing clothes using an iron heated by charcoal at a Dhobi Ghat in New Delhi. An istri-wallah at work! The Indian iron man, perhaps?

The dhobi is a traditional laundryman, who will collect your dirty linen, wash it, and return it neatly pressed to your doorstep. All for a pittance. The "laundries" are called "ghats": row upon row of concrete wash pens, each fitted with its own flogging stone. The clothes are soaked in sudsy water, thrashed on the flogging stones, then tossed into huge vats of boiling starch and hung out to dry. Next they are ironed and piled into neat bundles.

Delhi is a metropolitan region in India. With a population of 22 million in 2011, it is the world's second most populous city and the largest city in India in terms of area. The NCT and its urban region have been given the special status of National Capital Region (NCR) under the Constitution of India's 69th amendment act of 1991. The NCR includes the neighbouring cities of Alwar, Baghpat, Gurgaon, Sonepat, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida and other nearby towns, and has nearly 22.2 million residents.

A union territory, the political administration of the NCT of Delhi today more closely resembles that of a state of India, with its own legislature, high court and an executive council of ministers headed by a Chief Minister. New Delhi is jointly administered by the federal government of India and the local government of Delhi, and is the capital of the NCT of Delhi. Delhi is India's only one city-state.

Source : http://www.mumbainet.com/travel/dhobighat.htm & Wikipedia

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