Every morning at 9, the Charkha Museum at Connaught Place in Delhi opens for public. And by 10:30 am, the seven charkhas at the Ganga Ben Kutir on its premises are readied to be used by the trainees—be it the women inmates from Tihar Jail or a batch of commoners—who are trying their hands at the age-old art of spinning.
Set up as a collaboration between Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and New Delhi Municipal Corporation in May 2017, the centre has trained more than 80 jail inmates, so far. The recent batch included four activists from the Sulabh Mahila Bal Kalyan Sanstha, Palam.“Now, we will train the underprivileged women of our community in spinning to make them self-dependent,” says Lalita, who attended the two-week course.
The good news is this spinning training is open for all. Starting every Monday, the course can be done at a fee of Rs 2,600 per person. “But for jail inmates, who are out on parole or just finished their sentence, the training is sponsored by the KVIC,” says Ravi Kaushik, Assistant Development Officer, KVIC.From Gandhi’s Swadeshi Movement to Modi’s Make in India, Khadi accomplished the journey of being a common man’s cloth, a thought, a fashion statement and a way to lead a dignified life.
The women, who come to train, use charkhas fitted with eight spindles. “The cotton that they weave into yarns is used to create coloured Khadi malas—a souvenir given with the museum’s entry ticket,” says Kaushik. “Once women learn the skill of spinning, they go back to their community and start their own small ventures.”
That is not all. KVIC also provides a financial support of Rs 5 lakh, along with a certification, to women who are interested in setting up their own establishments. The yarns produced by these women are then procured by KVIC to be utilised for different Khadi products.
“We have now decided to create a corpus fund from the ticket sale—Rs 20 per person—which will be used to assist the 5.4 lakh artisan families working under the KVIC through insurance covers. The corpus fund will come into existence after we reach the target of Rs 1 crore,” says KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena. The highest recorded single day ticket sale was 60,000 on January 1 and 40,000 on January 26, which fetched the museum an amount of Rs 20 lakh.Apart from this, KVIC recently donated 75 charkhas to Bhondsi Jail in Gurgaon to help the women inmates learn the tricks of the trade.
Another interesting aspect of the museum is that the 14 charkhas on display have been donated by people from across the country. This was in response to an ad posted by the KVIC, six months prior to the museum’s opening. “The oldest is the ‘Two Takua Pankhudi’ charkha from 1912, donated by Uttar Pradesh resident Ashwani Kumar Agarwal,” says Kaushik. These charkhas speak volumes about their role in shaping the history of India and carrying forward the legacy of Khadi.
The khadi way
Museum is open for public from 9 am-9 pm everyday.
Ticket: Rs 20 per person.
Starting every Monday, the two-week spinning course can be done at a fee of Rs 2,600 per person
Plans to create a corpus fund to assist 5.4 lakh artisan families working under the KVIC after an amount of Rs 1 crore is earned from the ticket sale.