Prominent citizens of Rajkot will walk the ramp along with models at a fashion show to promote khadi on January 30,the Gandhi Nirvan Divas. At the show planned by Friends Group,participants will display a vast array of outfits ranging from bridal sarees to beachwear made from khadi,at Ramesh Parekh Open Air Theatre at Race Course Ground. Models from Mumbai along with local school children,politicians,and bureaucrats clad in designer outfits created by the students of NIFT,Rajkot,will walk the ramp. Rajkot District Collector H S Patel,Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Rupani (BJP),senior Congress leader Kashmira Nathwani and others are also likely to walk the ramp. Renowned kathakar Morari Bapu,the chief guest at the function,will deliver an oath to the participants and the audience to promote khadi. The aim of the event is to promote khadi by presenting it in a way never seen before, said project coordinator Suresh Parekh,a media man. The event will display a khadi saree for a bride and a sherwani for a groom,shorts,funky t-shirts for kids,evening gowns and tops, said Parekh,adding that 100 garments will be showcased in seven rounds. It is an attempt to show that khadi clothes are available for all occasions, said project president Paresh Dave. Fifty students of NIFT,Rajkot,have scanned through most khadi outlets across the state to select the outfits for the event. Khadi weaving tradition stays afloat at Gandhi AshramAhmedabad: Nearly 40 years ago,khadi production had stopped at the Gandhi Ashram. But the great grandson of one of Mahatma Gandhis followers,who had settled in the ashram,is trying hard to keep alive the tradition of weaving the cloth at the complex. Dhimant Badhia has been running Khadi Weaving Centre at the Imam Manzil in the ashram complex for the last six months. Dhimant says a lot of visitors from both India and abroad come to the ashram,and many of them want to see how khadi is produced,which was one of the core principles of Gandhian ideology. As the activity was stopped inside the ashram in the 70s,many visitors were left disappointed. This made me start the centre where we produce khadi, he adds. His efforts have already started bearing fruit,as a lot of foreigners as well as Indians are visiting the centre to see how khadi is produced. Even a college student had come to the centre for his academic project on khadi production. Apart from that,foreigners buying sample khadi cloth is routine now, Dhimant says. Amrut Modi,secretary of the trust that runs the ashram,says: After the production stopped here,the activity shifted to Surendranagar district. Earlier,weavers used to do the work. But after getting better job opportunities,they stopped weaving and the work had to be outsourced to Surendranagar. Dhimant adds: The situation is such that most of the khadi selling centres in the city are getting khadi from production units outside. Even I had to bring weavers for my centre from Surendranagar. Dhimant is the great grandson of Rajmji Badhia,who had been chosen by Gandhi to settle in the ashram in 1918 for weaving.
