Cultural consultant Kaveri Sinhji's heart beats extra for kids from Dhobi Ghat

When cultural consultant Kaveri Sinhji (41) began offering curated tour of Bengaluru to foreigners seven years ago, she just meant to run an efficient business. But a Danish tourist she came across in one such tour opened her eyes to a Bengaluru she had not visited before.

“I was more a foreigner than the foreigners,“ recollects Sinhji and says, “The Danish lady took me to Janakiram Layout slum, KR Market, Chickpete, Russell Market and the Dhobi ghats."

Sinhji, a Gujarati woman well-versed in South-Indian languages, paid many visits to these places, and began interacting closely with the locals to understand their living conditions. This gave a new dimension to her business.

“I got to feel the pulse of our city. At the same time, I started to develop a sense of guilt. These people work very hard but earn very less,“ says Sinhji, who has since taken up the mission of funding education of children of dhobi or washermen community living in Dickenson Road ghat.

“Started by the British army to serve its officers over 200 years ago, washermen's valleys continue to offer services to those who outsource their laundry chores. But laundry was a bigger trade until the arrival of laundry machines. So, dhobis are trying hard to educate their children to help them pursue other careers,“ she explains, and takes up her welfare activities through her nonprofit called Suhas. A chunk of income from her business goes into funding education of children at dhobi families who, quite often, remove children from schools and make them supplement the family income.

Last year, she raised Rs 3.52 lakh which supported 22 children whose fees ranged between Rs 2,000 and Rs 20,000. This year, her target is 33 children.

“Their children drop-out typically in seventh grade which leaves them neither uneducated nor employable,“ says Sinhji, who also plays agony-aunt for the dhobis. For solving alcoholabuse, relationship issues, medical requirements or winter needs like sweaters and jackets they simply dial Sinhji.

Currently, she gives the money raised to A Krishna, the head of the Washermen's Trust (Halasuru). “Kaveri brings us umbrellas, hats, sunglasses and raincoats. But the big one is children's education,“ says Krishna, who connects with her every week religiously.