Promoting Swadeshi

Smt Ratan Kaul and Parull Mahaajan hosted a small intimate gathering at the new DASTKARI STUDIO which is a labour of love of Smt Jaya Jaitly and comes under the aegis of Dastkari Haat Samiti headed by her to celebrate , support and promote the Indian craftsmen and strengthen the economy of our nation. This event, one in a long series of initiatives taken by this dynamic duo of Ratan & Parull to promote Handloom was all about acknowledging the deep significance of ' SWADESHI '. Smt Maneka Gandhi who is a pioneer in this domain was the honourable Chief Guest for the event and it was very well attended by the art and craft aficionados who reiterated their commitment for this cause in nation building.

This event, one in a long series of initiatives taken by this dynamic duo of Ratan & Parull to promote Handloom was all about acknowledging the deep significance of 'SWADESHI' . Smt Maneka Gandhi who is a pioneer in this domain was the honourable Chief Guest for the event and it was very well attended by the art and craft aficionados who reiterated their commitment for this cause in nation building.

On this occassion Smt Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee the grand daughter of Mahatma Gandhi reiterated the lines from her own recital - THE THREAD OF CREATION :

The hand spun and hand woven cloth in India is called Khadi or Khaddar. Representing philosophy, beauty and reality the hand spinning wheel called Charkha in India was the most potent tool of non-violence and Satyagraha of Mahatma Gandhi. The hand spinning wheel – the charkha – became the symbol of the Indian freedom movement. Heritage of humanity the hand spun, hand woven cloth and the hand spinning wheel were reborn in India as the inseparable part of Mahatma Gandhi’s life and philosophy. Woven to create exquisite fabrics, textures and designs in silk, wool and cotton, the hand spun threads of the hand spinning wheel provide employment to millions of men and women of today’s rural India.Threads of the Charkha represent the continuity of the flow of the eternal threads of creation – the threads of love and compassion.

Smt Sukanya Bharatram Trustee of Shri Ram Education Trust and great grand daughter of Mahatma Gandhi said "Khadi or Khaddar means cloth that is hand spun and hand woven. It can be cotton, wool, or other any other natural fiber such as jute or linen. This is the technical meaning. However Khadi is not just a fabric- it is a philosophy, it is a social and economic reality, it is meditation, it is a window into our heritage of crafts and textiles, it is dignity of labour, it takes us back to our roots, it connects us to the soil, it connects us to our ancestors. Khadi connects cultures and societies and is hence a unifying force. 

For all these reasons, and many more, Mahatma Gandhi decided that Khadi should be the symbol of our freedom struggle. The simple spinning wheel was the perfect example of his vision of Sarvodaya- a world where man could live in harmony with nature and with fellow human beings without exploitation, without fear and with friendship towards all."