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Making hay when the sun doesn't shine
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When the maid, power, and water play hooky, what do you do with that mountain of unwashed clothes? Why, take it to a laundromat if you live near Jayanagar, of course.
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Raj Laundromat: ensuring a wardrobe full of clean clothes — Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash
NOTHING CAN be more depressing for a working woman than seeing piles of unwashed laundry. Adding to her woes, the maid plays hooky for the third day running, the water level in the overhead tank plunges, KPTCL turns off the power with no warning, and then she finds she has no clean clothes to wear to work. This is one of those nightmarish situations women dread. Thankfully it is not the end of the world for such harassed souls who live in and around Jayanagar. For succour has come in a form of a little laundry — Raj Laundromat — that ensures its customers they always have a wardrobe full of clothes that are washed, dried, and pressed.
Raj Laundromat is the brainchild of Govindraj H.S., who saw how the system works while on a visit to his brother Rama Iyengar in Atlanta, in 1992. Mr. Iyengar ran a laundromat there and Mr. Govindraj was impressed to see people dump their soiled clothes into the machines, insert a coin, and pick up clean, ready-to-wear clothes in less than an hour. He was convinced that busy Bangaloreans, who are constantly in short supply of water, power, time, and domestic help, needed just this kind of a facility.
Raj Laundromat, launched in 1996 by Govindraj's wife, Sridevi Rajan, reputedly the first of its kind in Bangalore, consists of three TVS washing machines and a drier imported from the U.S., and provides the facility of ironing the clothes at Rs. 2 apiece. It charges Rs. 20 for washing a kilo of clothes. Each washing machine can take five kg. clothes at a time. Clothes can range from trousers, shirts, churidars, jeans, kurtas, and pyjamas, to bedsheets, curtains, large mosquito nets, car upholstery, covers, towels, and other household linen items. However, pure silk saris and expensive suits are a no-no, thanks to their delicate nature. The best thing about the laundromat is that your clothes are washed in your presence and not taken to a dhobi ghat and slapped on a stone after you leave the counter. The clothes are normally delivered in 24 hours, and in half a day in case of an emergency, at no extra cost. The laundry works from 8.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. with no break.
The laundry is so popular that its customers — be they hostelers, IT professionals, housewives, working women, tourists, or the elderly — swear by it.
The clothes are weighed and checked to see if they require collar or cuff scrubs. Those whose colours tend to run are washed separately. The laundry assures us that it uses only quality detergents.
Mr. Govindraj, who is well versed in electrical systems, sees to the upkeeps of the machines. His wife, who had always wanted to work but could not because she had to look after her aged in-laws, is thrilled with this venture. She attends to the shop between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and again from 5.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.. She has three employees to help, and has turned the laundry into a successful enterprise, earning a loyal clientele who come from as far away as BTM Layout and Indiranagar, besides Jayanagar. Interestingly, most of the customers own washing machines.
Narendra, a customer observes that hygiene is an important factor as the Laundromat takes care not to mix clothes with those belonging to others.
The laundromat normally makes hay when the sun doesn't shine as some hospitals nearby use it to dry their linen during wet weather. Now that he has a successful venture, Mr. Govindraj plans franchises.
Raj Laundromat is at 126, 33rd Cross, 11th Main, 4th Block, Jayanagar. It can be contacted on 6655296.
M.V. CHANDRASHEKAR
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