Today, VoiceTube is paying a visit to Laundrywatte in the heart of Colombo, which is the home of generational dhobis.
Also called Paradise Place, it is located 50 metres away from Armour Street and is home to more than 200 Sinhala and Tamil families.
Dhobis began their trade in this place in the early 1930s.
They provided their services to the English officials and other top people of Colombo city.
Today, around 100 of these families are involved in it as their livelihood, catering to hospitals, hotels and companies in the commercial capital.
Doing their job with minimum facilities, they suffer, eat sparingly and wash dirty linen of others in order to make sure that their children will be able to raise their heads with pride in society.
There is much talk about transforming Colombo city into another London or another Singapore, but it is sad to see that these people have not caught the attention of the authorities so far.
All inhabitants of Laundrywatte have to tell the same story.
"All of us want to be strong economically without seeking help from others," says Rajesh Kanna, a generational dhobi who has been plying his trade for more than 30 years now.
This is his story.
