Dhobi significant number of Dhobis are cultivators, and this particularly so in western Uttar Pradesh. They live in multi-caste villages, but occupy their own distinct quarters. Each of their settlements contains an informal caste council, known as a Biradari Panchayat. The Panchayat acts as instrument of social control, dealing with issues such as divorce and adultery. The 2011 Census of India for Uttar Pradesh showed the Dhobi population, which was classified as a Scheduled Caste, as 2,432,610. Dhobi Dhobi () is a caste group of India. Their traditional occupation was washing clothes, i.e. laundry. The word "dhobi" is derived from the
What Work Is of a superior, and the hellish nature of the task that the narrator is performing and its effect upon him. Much of the collection contains a series of grim and brooding passages. Paul Gray, a contributor of "Time" called Levine's narrators “guerrillas, trapped in an endless battle long after the war is lost.” This may refer to instances where Levine recalls his childhood hometown of Detroit. Yet others, such as Marie Borroff, suggest that Levine's work is joyful despite its painful material. Initial reviews for "What Work Is" praised Levine for his working-class subject matter, which represented a marked change