What In The World Is A Laundry Wallah?

I never ceased to be amazed at the efficiency and resourcefulness of the various wallahs I encountered in India

. For example, one morning at a Kovalam Beach (we had just arrived the night before) I was sipping chai on the veranda when a tall turbaned gentleman peddled up to me on his bicycle. Sentaku, sentaku, he chanted softly.

Now, sentaku means laundry in Japanese, and although I clearly was not Japanese, my wife was. However, she was still sleeping and out of sight. I suppose then, that the wallahs and the management exchange a lot of information about their guest.

Ikura? (how much?) I asked back in Japanese but he had done his homework.

Sanjuu rupee dake (only 30 rupees). That was about one U.S. dollar at the time. Per basket sir, he added in English. Well, we did have laundry and he was after all very polite and had possessed a gentle demeanor. He lifted the basket up to me, took the thirty rupees and tucked it into his sarong. I filled the basket, and handed it back to him. With a nod he put the basket on his head and with practiced balance he pedaled off, not saying when he would be back but with an air of purpose that lent confidence just the same.

Sure enough, about an hour before sunset he came pedaling back with the basket on his head, softly but clearly intoning, sentaku, sentaku. The clothes were perfectly clean, smelt like sunshine and sea breezes, and were neatly folded. I gave him the basket back and he smiled, held out his hand and asked Baksheesh? Baksheesh can mean anything from tip to bribe, so I asked him how much he wanted. Just 10 rupees, sir. We had found our sentaku wallah for the next ten days.

What In The World Is A Laundry Wallah?

By: Dinah Jackson

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