03/05/2026

theSunday Special III ON SUNDAY MAY 3, 2026

The Sri Ramar Temple, rooted in the Dhoby Ghaut settlement, stands across the river from Suffolk House in George Town. – HIMANSHU BHATT/THESUN A land grant that became a temple foundation

Clothes line the open air at Dhoby Ghaut, preserving a fading but enduring rhythm of riverbank washing. –T.C. KHOR/THESUN

On May 2, 1802, Sir George Leith, then Governor of Prince of Wales Island, acting under authority from Bengal, granted her a piece of land in Ayer Itam. Rather than retain it for personal use, she created a trust for temple charity, laying the foundations of what would become the Sri Ramar Temple at Solok York. She also endowed the temple with revenue from a fruit garden, ensuring its upkeep beyond her lifetime. Today, the temple is administered by the Penang Hindu Endowments Board and is regarded as one of the oldest Hindu temples in the country. “Its origin is traced to the temple’s history of the land granted to Rani Dhobi. That remains the foundation of everything that stands here today. Her personal history is not well documented, but her contribution is clear. The temple is the evidence,” temple chairman Datuk Villantheran Govindasamy told theSun . A benefactor remembered in stone and faith The original structure was a modest rotunda, similar to those found in Uttar Pradesh, housing a clay image of Lord Ramar. Over time, it became the spiritual and social centre of the local community. According to local lore, Rani took a personal interest in daily worship and was said to possess knowledge of traditional healing, preparing remedies from local plants for those who sought her help. She is believed to have died before 1872 and was interred within the temple compound, a rare departure from Hindu custom, reflecting the esteem in which she was held. Between history and oral legend Some accounts move beyond recorded history. When Villantheran became temple chairman in 2012, a proposal was raised to relocate her burial site to the Batu Lanchang Hindu Cemetery. “But something odd happened that night after the meeting. Several committee members dreamt of a lady in white, telling them not to shift or disturb the spot. I experienced it myself that same night,” he said. The proposal was dropped. Later, priests reported similar sightings during overnight temple preparations, a small woman in white moving silently through the temple before dawn, pausing in prayer before disappearing. In 2014, the committee marked her

burial site.” “

Dhoby Ghaut today, where laundry still dries in the open air along riverbanks that once served British-era households. – T.C KHOR/THESUN

that broader estate landscape today. Family memory and inherited history In her written account, Premilla describes a petite woman exerting influence within a tightly knit dhobi community while maintaining recognition within colonial circles. She speculates that Rani may have arrived with a husband, been widowed young, and taken over his trade. Or that she was a woman of means with access to colonial officials. Unlike most male dhobis who returned to India, Rani remained in Penang. “My great, great grandparents came to Penang on a one-way journey and never returned to India. The story of Rani Dhobi has been passed down through generations in our family,” said Premilla. The fading riverbanks of Dhoby Ghaut Today, the stone steps of Dhoby Ghaut are gone, replaced by concrete

embankments. Yet traces remain. Along Jalan Air Itam, a handful of laundries still operate, white sheets fluttering in the river breeze much as they did two centuries ago. “The temple land was just one portion of her vast estate,” said Premilla. George Town’s Dhoby Ghaut predates its more famous Singapore counterpart by more than a decade. In Singapore, a similar district emerged after Stamford Raffles founded the trading port in 1819, now memorialised in the Dhoby Ghaut MRT station. At Solok York, the Sri Ramar Temple continues to receive visitors daily. “The interior of the temple is absolutely beautiful. It is worth a visit,” said Penang Hindu Endowment Board chairman R.S.N. Rayer. And so the legend of Rani Dhobi endures, suspended between history and memory, anchored in land she once held, and a river that still carries echoes of her name.

Several committee members dreamt of a lady in white, telling them not to shift the

original burial site with a bowl of floating flowers. Land, trade and colonial entanglements Beyond the temple, Rani was also involved in land transactions along the Sungai Pinang riverbank. Premilla said between 1808 and 1811, Rani sold part of her land to William Edwards Phillips, linking her holdings indirectly to estates associated with Light and James Scott. Suffolk House, one of Penang’s most prominent colonial residences, stands on