When I was growing up in Connecticut I remember my mom always did laundry on Mondays. She was in the basement most of the day doing wash for a family of nine! Her washing machine was a wringer type. There were no automatic dryers. She had to hang clothes on the line outside. If it was winter or raining? Laundry was hung in the basement. Or in the bathroom on a drying rack. Tuesdays were always ironing day. Rough, right? Not until you see Laundry Day in Varanasi, India. In the River Ganges.
Where’s the dryer?
Unlike laundry day at my house, which can be whenever I’m tripping over the clothes falling out of the basket, washing clothes in the Ganges has a spiritual component. The Ganges River, also known as the Ganga, holds immense religious and cultural significance in Hinduism. It is not merely a river but is revered as the goddess Ganga herself. Washing your clothes there is considered purification. Even if the clothes are washed right next to a buffalo, it’s still an honored ritual .
The only purification involved in my laundry day is when I end up washing the same load of clothes for three days because I forget to put them in the dryer. My mother never had to rewash because she had no other option but to hang up the clothes right away. I’ve seen clothing washed in the Ganga drying on lines but I have also seen articles on laundry day in Varanasi using the method of laying the clothes right on the dirt to dry on the side of the river. Sounds a bit counter productive but so is my forgetting to put my wash in the dryer three days in a row. So let’s not be judgy.
Pollution Levels are high
The Ganges is one of the most polluted rivers in the world for many reasons including industrial waste, sewage, and human activities. Nevertheless, it doesn’t seem to deter those who wish to be purified in her waters. To the believers who bathe there it is a source of devotion, reverence and solace. Hard to believe that if you are just there as a pampered tourist staying at a fancy guest house on the ghats. Many Hindus will wash the clothes they are wearing as they do their own total immersion in what they feel are healing waters. No Tide pods needed. The nearest rock will do.
Even though the Victorian novelist and playwright Edward Bulwer-Lytton first used the term “the Great Unwashed” in 1830, lately I feel he’s referring to my hamper. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a load of darks to put in my dryer. I have many conveniences my mother never had on Laundry day Mondays. But what do I want? I’m waiting for a dryer to come out that has an extra button on it that says FOLD.
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