It was no big surprise that our “class outing” to Kovalam Beach was cancelled on Saturday. Due to politics, of course; we are in Kerala. The central government had decided to hike up the price of petrol, and so all of the state agreed on what is called a “Hartal” or an act of rebellion in which everything in the city shuts down. This means no public transportation, no food, and certainly no beach outing. However, it was a chance for me to get my laundry done.
One thing I learned while living in India is how to wash clothes by hand. Filling up buckets and scrubbing the clothes on a giant cement slab in the heat of an Indian summer doesn’t really seem enjoyable. However, it is one of those menial tasks that can also be cathartic. The washing stone of our apartment is on the rooftop, and having the time alone listening to the environment below puts me in a meditative state. I also somehow feel connected to my grandmother and all the work that had to be done before washing machines were invented. I begin to appreciate the labor we take for granted.
I also remember one of my fellow volunteers talking about the communal aspect of laundry. Somehow as you are hanging up your clothes on the line, you begin to think of all the other people in the world that are doing the same. Everyone has dirty clothes, right? And as I look out from my rooftop and see dozens of other clotheslines garnished with kurtas, lungis, and meters and meters of saree fabric, I can’t help but think of how we are all connected, in time and space, by laundry.
Malayalam Words (with some Hindi mixed in):
thuni = clothing
alakkuka = to wash (clothing)
vellam = water
kallu = stone
saree = women’s clothing made of 9 meters of fabric draped around the body
kurta = a long shirt both women and men wear
lungi = a long piece of rectangular fabric men wrap around the waist (something like a long skirt)
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