Laundry

(chillin near laundry at a friend's hotel... Not at Kalighat)

Every day I do laundry at Kalighat I learn something new (usually an interior revelation about how I lack humility). And today was no exception.

When I first came to Kalighat I did the Pants, and they were hard, because you can't just throw them donw on the roof, you have to be gentle with them, making sure the waist, legs and cuffs are as straight as you can get them. They took time, but I got the hang of it.

Then I started to do the Dresses. I was doing them for a week before I was corrected, and though I wanted to defend myself, I realised that I really don't know how to do them properly. I'm not the one in charge, and I only have a week's experience. But then yesterday while my feet were blistering, I realised I'm good with dresses. I thought that an odd statement but it also brought me a smile that I'm actually entrusted by the wash leader with such a difficult task.

You see there are two types of dresses, one is a simple pull over the head dress, and the other is an open back. the pull over the head dresses you lie down collar up, and then straighten out the collar and dress. the open back is more time consuming and difficult. I always want to do them last, hoping someone else will do them, but instead I just take them and do them as they come. And if someone is working with me I'll take them, because they're harder to do, and the other person is probably only here for one or two days. they're an awkward piece of clothing that has to be held by two corners laid down, straightened out, folded, straightened, folded, and straightened.

Then today I did the shirts.

And I discovered a new kind of hard.

The pitch of the roof where we lay the shirts is greater than 45 degrees and is probably approaching 60. I'm a clumsy, awkward buffon so this was a real task for me to manage and not fall and die. And with or without shoes, walking on the tiles is painful, especially when they're at an angle and you have to not only stand but balance. At one point, my leg muscles hurt so much from balancing that I had to sit down on the peak and let them rest.

And aside from balancing, you have to lay down the shirt collar skyward, head opening towards the bottom of the incline, straighten the collar, straighten the waist, and then move downwards to do the next, without stepping on the the bolts that stick up out of the roof randomly...