Dhoby Ghaut

Dhoby Ghaut is a place in Singapore that often refers to the Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, a major interchange station on the Mass Rapid Transit of Singapore. Dhoby Ghaut or Dhobi Ghat (धोबी घाट) literally means washing place in Hindi, from dhobi "washerman" or one that does laundry and ghat, generically meaning a large open space. As a place, Dhoby Ghaut lies along the southern end of Orchard Road.

The remnants of The Cathay theater mark the location of the Japanese Ministry of Propaganda. Nearby, the old YMCA building at Dhoby Ghaut was used by the Japanese for interrogation during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. The Orchard Presbyterian Church in the area was established by Scottish settlers in 1877.

Etymology

Typically in India, Dhobis call on regular clients, collect their dirty clothes and then take them to the Dhobi Ghats. The name is reminiscent of the famous Dhobi Ghat of Mumbai, India, which has rows of concrete wash pens, each with its own flogging stone. The Dhobi sloshes dirty linen into a soapy water mixture, thrashing them with the flogging stones, and then puts the linen into huge vats of starch. After which being dried, they are ironed and delivered to the owners. This is however not a standard practice of dhobis in general. In a large number of areas in the country, dhobis have migrated to washing machines and dryers, using the modern detergents.

In the more rural parts in India, clothes are taken to the nearest river or canal,...
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