Dhobis of Delhi

• Verfasst von: Channa, Subhadra [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Dhobis of Delhi
• Titelzusatz: an urban ethnography from the margins, 1974-2023
• Verf.angabe: Subhadra Mitra Channa
• Verlagsort: Oxford
• Verlag: Oxford University Press
• E-Jahr: 2024
• Jahr: [2024]
• Umfang: 254 Seiten
• ISBN: 978-0-19-892620-7
• ISBN: 978-0-19-892621-4
• ISBN: 978-0-19-892623-8
• Schlagwörter: (g)Delhi / (s)Dalit / (s)Lebensbedingungen / (z)Geschichte 1974-2023
• Sprache: eng
• K10plus-PPN: 1906742804

Abstract

"During my initial contact with the dhobis I was somewhat mystified by the presence of a small alcove in every home where in the evening, a small earthen lamp was lit. Any senior member of the household would light the lamp and fold his or her hands in prayer. I had met an elderly woman, from Sita Ram Bazaar , the grandmother of a young man now working as a web -designer who was happy to recall the old days with me, and when I mentioned the Ala, she said that yes, they would fold their hands before it early in the morning before getting down to work. Her daughter-in-law however did not acknowledge any such activity and said that they hardly had time for performing that small ritual at the Ala. The elderly woman told me the Ala was their only sacred place before and they never heard of so many devi, devta, and puja as is happening now. 'Now people are worshipping Ganesh, even dhobis are bringing in Ganesh idols to worship at home'. In the seventies, apart from the Ala, I did not find any other shrine, temple or place for prayer in the crowded homes of the dhobis, where even an inch of space was a luxury. The walls were always plastered with pictures, mostly cut from old calendars or bought during Deepavali, of various"--