Various village industries still thrive in Haridwar. One such industry is spinning of raw cotton to make threads using Mahatma Gandhi’s Charkha, the spinning-wheel.
Cotton spinning
Mira behn (born in 1892 as Madeleine Slade) was the daughter of a British commander of naval forces. She was a piano-artist. when she met Romain Rolland, he asked her to meet Gandhi.
Mira behn founded the ‘Kisan Ashram’ (ashram for farmers) a few kilometres away from where AZIMVTH Ashram is situated. Spinning of cotton was a major activity there.
In the following video, she explains the Charkha.
The Charkha used for spinning cotton is akin to Bardoli Charkha as displayed below.
Wool-spinning
Wool-spinning is also a craft that is quite alive. Some pictures are given below.
Following video shows a woman using Bhagirathi Charkha to spin wool.
MORE
- Studio of Weaving-Loom
- Weaving of cotton and wool
- Spinning of cotton and wool
- Arm knitting
AZIMVTH Ashram 