Dhopa - Revision history

Mukbil at 16:10, 21 September 2021

2021-09-21T16:10:27Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:10, 21 September 2021
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	'''Dhopa''' an occupational group, who launder and iron clothes. Dhopas, also known as ''rajaks'', traditionally belonged to a lower caste of the Hindu community in the past. In olden times, ''dhopas'' used to wash the clothes of rich people like [[zamindar]]s. Later, the necessities of the society gave rise to a very steady demand for their services. Formerly, washermen used potash produced by burning banana stalks for cleaning clothes. At present, they use soda or bleaching powder. Some dhopas, however, add urine of the cow to soda or bleaching powder as the mix of washing reagents. The mode of washing begins with the cloths made wet with soda or bleaching powder and then amassed and heated with vapour into a vessel on an oven. The clothes are then rubbed with soap and threshed on a wooden board and finally rinsed in cold water. In some cases, the gruel or starch of arrowroot, or indigo, soaked in water is used. Indigo is generally used for removing the yellowish tinge and whitening the material.		'''Dhopa''' an occupational group, who launder and iron clothes. Dhopas, also known as ''rajaks'', traditionally belonged to a lower caste of the Hindu community in the past. In olden times, ''dhopas'' used to wash the clothes of rich people like [[zamindar]]s. Later, the necessities of the society gave rise to a very steady demand for their services. Formerly, washermen used potash produced by burning banana stalks for cleaning clothes. At present, they use soda or bleaching powder. Some dhopas, however, add urine of the cow to soda or bleaching powder as the mix of washing reagents. The mode of washing begins with the cloths made wet with soda or bleaching powder and then amassed and heated with vapour into a vessel on an oven. The clothes are then rubbed with soap and threshed on a wooden board and finally rinsed in cold water. In some cases, the gruel or starch of arrowroot, or indigo, soaked in water is used. Indigo is generally used for removing the yellowish tinge and whitening the material.

			The process terminates with the ironing of the clothes. The Portuguese introduced the ironing of clothes and the Bengali word for ironing, ''istri'' is derived from the Portuguese.

	The ~~process terminates with~~ the ~~ironing~~ of the ~~clothes~~. ~~The Portuguese introduced~~ the ~~ironing~~ of ~~clothes~~ and the ~~Bengali word~~'' ''~~for ironing~~, ''~~istri~~'' ~~is derived from the Portuguese~~.		[[Image:Dhopa.jpg\|thumb\|400px\|right\|Dhopa washing clothes]]
			The dhopa caste claims to have descended from ''Neta Muni'' or ''Neta Dhopani,'' who washed the clothes of Brahma. Owing to universal custom, which forbade a Hindu to wash, the dhopa caste was very widely distributed and had been broken into an unusually large number of sub-castes in Bengal. Two of the prominent subdivisions in Bengal were the ''Ramer dhopa'', and ''Sitar dhopa'', the former claiming to descend from the washerman of Rama, and the later from that of Sita. Members of these two groups eat and drink together, but never intermarry. The religion of dhopa caste exhibits no points of special interest. Like most lower caste Hindus, they follow the ''Vaishnava ''sect, and only a few are ''Saktas''.

	~~<p align=center style="text-align:center">Dhopa washing clothes~~		Although there were hardly any Muslims in the profession of dhopas in the past, the profession is no longer a Hindu domain in Bangladesh. The main reason is the gradual thinning out of the Hindu population in this part of Bengal after 1947. Change in washing technology and the general attitude to laundry work as an economic activity also has encouraged Muslims to come to the profession. In fact, the introduction of dry cleaning and the invention of automatic washing machines caused extinction of traditional dhopas in many areas of the country. The modern washermen, equipped with automatic and semi-automatic machines, now operate laundry-shops as business entrepreneurs. Traditional dhopas continue to work in urban areas, but in most cases, as subcontractors of this new class of entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, they perform their functions independently with their indigenous mode of washing, cleaning, and ironing, mostly in rural and semi-urban areas. [Gofran Faroqi]



	The dhopa caste claims to have descended from ''Neta Muni'' or ''Neta Dhopani,'' who washed the clothes of Brahma. Owing to universal custom, which forbade a Hindu to wash, the dhopa caste was very widely distributed and had been broken into an unusually large number of sub-castes in Bengal. Two of the prominent subdivisions in Bengal were the ''Ramer dhopa'', and ''Sitar dhopa'', the former claiming to descend from the washerman of Rama, and the later from that of Sita. Members of these two groups eat and drink together, but never intermarry. The religion of dhopa caste exhibits no points of special interest. Like most lower caste Hindus, they follow the ''Vaishnava ''sect, and only a few are ''Saktas''.

	Although there were hardly any Muslims in the profession of dhopas in the past, the profession is no longer a Hindu domain in Bangladesh. The main reason is the gradual thinning out of the Hindu population in this part of Bengal after 1947. Change in washing technology and the general attitude to laundry work as an economic activity also has encouraged Muslims to come to the profession. In fact, the introduction of dry cleaning and the invention of automatic washing machines caused extinction of traditional dhopas in many areas of the country. The modern washermen, equipped with automatic and semi-automatic machines, now operate laundry-shops as business entrepreneurs. Traditional dhopas continue to work in urban areas, but in most cases, as subcontractors of this new class of entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, they perform their functions independently with their indigenous mode of washing, cleaning, and ironing, mostly in rural and semi-urban areas. [Gofran Faroqi~~] [Faroqi, Gofran Assistant Director, RPATC, New Eskaton, Dhaka~~]

	[[bn:ধোপা]]		[[bn:ধোপা]]

Nasirkhan: Content Updated.

2021-06-18T05:57:24Z

Content Updated.

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:57, 18 June 2021
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	~~<p class=Normal >~~'''Dhopa''' an occupational group, who launder and iron clothes. Dhopas, also known as ''rajaks'', traditionally belonged to a lower caste of the Hindu community in the past. In olden times, ''dhopas'' used to wash the clothes of rich people like [[zamindar]]s. Later, the necessities of the society gave rise to a very steady demand for their services. Formerly, washermen used potash produced by burning banana stalks for cleaning clothes. At present, they use soda or bleaching powder. Some dhopas, however, add urine of the cow to soda or bleaching powder as the mix of washing reagents. The mode of washing begins with the cloths made wet with soda or bleaching powder and then amassed and heated with vapour into a vessel on an oven. The clothes are then rubbed with soap and threshed on a wooden board and finally rinsed in cold water. In some cases, the gruel or starch of arrowroot, or indigo, soaked in water is used. Indigo is generally used for removing the yellowish tinge and whitening the material.		'''Dhopa''' an occupational group, who launder and iron clothes. Dhopas, also known as ''rajaks'', traditionally belonged to a lower caste of the Hindu community in the past. In olden times, ''dhopas'' used to wash the clothes of rich people like [[zamindar]]s. Later, the necessities of the society gave rise to a very steady demand for their services. Formerly, washermen used potash produced by burning banana stalks for cleaning clothes. At present, they use soda or bleaching powder. Some dhopas, however, add urine of the cow to soda or bleaching powder as the mix of washing reagents. The mode of washing begins with the cloths made wet with soda or bleaching powder and then amassed and heated with vapour into a vessel on an oven. The clothes are then rubbed with soap and threshed on a wooden board and finally rinsed in cold water. In some cases, the gruel or starch of arrowroot, or indigo, soaked in water is used. Indigo is generally used for removing the yellowish tinge and whitening the material.

	~~<p class=Normal >~~

	The process terminates with the ironing of the clothes. The Portuguese introduced the ironing of clothes and the Bengali word'' ''for ironing, ''istri'' is derived from the Portuguese.		The process terminates with the ironing of the clothes. The Portuguese introduced the ironing of clothes and the Bengali word'' ''for ironing, ''istri'' is derived from the Portuguese.
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	<p align=center style="text-align:center">Dhopa washing clothes		<p align=center style="text-align:center">Dhopa washing clothes

	~~<p class=Normal >~~

	~~<p class=Normal >~~The dhopa caste claims to have descended from ''Neta Muni'' or ''Neta Dhopani,'' who washed the clothes of Brahma. Owing to universal custom, which forbade a Hindu to wash, the dhopa caste was very widely distributed and had been broken into an unusually large number of sub-castes in Bengal. Two of the prominent subdivisions in Bengal were the ''Ramer dhopa'', and ''Sitar dhopa'', the former claiming to descend from the washerman of Rama, and the later from that of Sita. Members of these two groups eat and drink together, but never intermarry. The religion of dhopa caste exhibits no points of special interest. Like most lower caste Hindus, they follow the ''Vaishnava ''sect, and only a few are ''Saktas''.		The dhopa caste claims to have descended from ''Neta Muni'' or ''Neta Dhopani,'' who washed the clothes of Brahma. Owing to universal custom, which forbade a Hindu to wash, the dhopa caste was very widely distributed and had been broken into an unusually large number of sub-castes in Bengal. Two of the prominent subdivisions in Bengal were the ''Ramer dhopa'', and ''Sitar dhopa'', the former claiming to descend from the washerman of Rama, and the later from that of Sita. Members of these two groups eat and drink together, but never intermarry. The religion of dhopa caste exhibits no points of special interest. Like most lower caste Hindus, they follow the ''Vaishnava ''sect, and only a few are ''Saktas''.

	~~<p class=Normal >~~Although there were hardly any Muslims in the profession of dhopas in the past, the profession is no longer a Hindu domain in Bangladesh. The main reason is the gradual thinning out of the Hindu population in this part of Bengal after 1947. Change in washing technology and the general attitude to laundry work as an economic activity also has encouraged Muslims to come to the profession. In fact, the introduction of dry cleaning and the invention of automatic washing machines caused extinction of traditional dhopas in many areas of the country. The modern washermen, equipped with automatic and semi-automatic machines, now operate laundry-shops as business entrepreneurs. Traditional dhopas continue to work in urban areas, but in most cases, as subcontractors of this new class of entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, they perform their functions independently with their indigenous mode of washing, cleaning, and ironing, mostly in rural and semi-urban areas. [Gofran Faroqi] [Faroqi, Gofran Assistant Director, RPATC, New Eskaton, Dhaka]		Although there were hardly any Muslims in the profession of dhopas in the past, the profession is no longer a Hindu domain in Bangladesh. The main reason is the gradual thinning out of the Hindu population in this part of Bengal after 1947. Change in washing technology and the general attitude to laundry work as an economic activity also has encouraged Muslims to come to the profession. In fact, the introduction of dry cleaning and the invention of automatic washing machines caused extinction of traditional dhopas in many areas of the country. The modern washermen, equipped with automatic and semi-automatic machines, now operate laundry-shops as business entrepreneurs. Traditional dhopas continue to work in urban areas, but in most cases, as subcontractors of this new class of entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, they perform their functions independently with their indigenous mode of washing, cleaning, and ironing, mostly in rural and semi-urban areas. [Gofran Faroqi] [Faroqi, Gofran Assistant Director, RPATC, New Eskaton, Dhaka]

	[[bn:ধোপা]]		[[bn:ধোপা]]

0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1: Content Updated.

2021-06-17T19:07:47Z

Content Updated.

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'''Dhopa''' an occupational group, who launder and iron clothes. Dhopas, also known as ''rajaks'', traditionally belonged to a lower caste of the Hindu community in the past. In olden times, ''dhopas'' used to wash the clothes of rich people like [[zamindar]]s. Later, the necessities of the society gave rise to a very steady demand for their services. Formerly, washermen used potash produced by burning banana stalks for cleaning clothes. At present, they use soda or bleaching powder. Some dhopas, however, add urine of the cow to soda or bleaching powder as the mix of washing reagents. The mode of washing begins with the cloths made wet with soda or bleaching powder and then amassed and heated with vapour into a vessel on an oven. The clothes are then rubbed with soap and threshed on a wooden board and finally rinsed in cold water. In some cases, the gruel or starch of arrowroot, or indigo, soaked in water is used. Indigo is generally used for removing the yellowish tinge and whitening the material.



The process terminates with the ironing of the clothes. The Portuguese introduced the ironing of clothes and the Bengali word'' ''for ironing, ''istri'' is derived from the Portuguese.

Dhopa washing clothes



The dhopa caste claims to have descended from ''Neta Muni'' or ''Neta Dhopani,'' who washed the clothes of Brahma. Owing to universal custom, which forbade a Hindu to wash, the dhopa caste was very widely distributed and had been broken into an unusually large number of sub-castes in Bengal. Two of the prominent subdivisions in Bengal were the ''Ramer dhopa'', and ''Sitar dhopa'', the former claiming to descend from the washerman of Rama, and the later from that of Sita. Members of these two groups eat and drink together, but never intermarry. The religion of dhopa caste exhibits no points of special interest. Like most lower caste Hindus, they follow the ''Vaishnava ''sect, and only a few are ''Saktas''.

Although there were hardly any Muslims in the profession of dhopas in the past, the profession is no longer a Hindu domain in Bangladesh. The main reason is the gradual thinning out of the Hindu population in this part of Bengal after 1947. Change in washing technology and the general attitude to laundry work as an economic activity also has encouraged Muslims to come to the profession. In fact, the introduction of dry cleaning and the invention of automatic washing machines caused extinction of traditional dhopas in many areas of the country. The modern washermen, equipped with automatic and semi-automatic machines, now operate laundry-shops as business entrepreneurs. Traditional dhopas continue to work in urban areas, but in most cases, as subcontractors of this new class of entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, they perform their functions independently with their indigenous mode of washing, cleaning, and ironing, mostly in rural and semi-urban areas. [Gofran Faroqi] [Faroqi, Gofran Assistant Director, RPATC, New Eskaton, Dhaka]

[[bn:ধোপা]]