Thursday, October 02, 2008

International Day Of Non-Violence


2nd October GANDHI JAYANTI

Today is Gandhi Jayanti, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the 'Father Of The Nation'. It is a national holiday celebrated in India to mark the occasion.

On 15 June 2007, the United Nations
General Assembly declared October 2 as
The International Day Of Non-Violence.

In 1920's, Gandhiji and his followers embraced the rough textures of hand-woven cotton, known as khadi. It was a step to provide employment to millions of people during India's freedom struggle, and also carried a message not to use foreign clothes.
Khadi is Indian hand-spun and hand-woven cloth. The raw materials like silk, cotton or wool are spun into threads on a spinning wheel called 'Charkha', which was a symbol of strength and self-sufficiency.
Gandhiji hoped the 'Charkha' would help the people achieve self-sufficiency and independence. So, the 'Charkha' was used as a symbol of the Indian independence movement, and was included on the earlier versions of Flag of India.

I have taken this photo at Khadi Bhandar ( Khadi GramUdyog Bhavan - the sales centre of Khadi & Village Industries  Commission) in Fort area in Mumbai. Photography (of articles displayed) is not permitted here, but I could take a couple of photos (after prior permission) of this corner dedicated to Gandhiji.
All cottage industry products like Khadi, Wood crafts, Terracotta, Stone crafts, Papier Mache, Hand looms, Jewellery, Bamboo craft, Leather craft, Metal craft, Jute, Tribal Paintings - handmade soap, matchboxes, agarbatties, honey, mud packs and lotions, traditional handicrafts, purses & wallets, chappals and mojris, idols made of paper-mesh, sandalwood, rosewood and whitewood products, furniture and other wooden articles and lots more, are sold at Khadi Bhandar besides cotton, silk and woolen cloth and readymade garments -kurtas, shirts, salwars...
Even today, the bill (cash memo) given to the customer is made from hand-made paper.

Some interesting links to know more about Gandhiji & Khadi

2 comments:

  1. I wish every day was an international day of non-violence.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good wishes on this, your Special Day. I wish we had a Ghandi in the world today.

    ReplyDelete

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