Spun Intended

Four women, sitting cross-legged, were bent before complex-looking machines on which six spindles rotated with each turn of the crank. The fine threads that were born of this process collected on a stand attached to the machine.

Don8217;t know how the Mahatma would have taken to it, but this was the NMC or New Model Charkha, a six-spindle wonder for professional small-scale weavers.

Though I couldn8217;t quite bring myself to associate Gandhiji8217;s instrument of social change with these machines, it was obvious that the reinvented charkha wheel had kept up with the times.

Learning how to operate one at the Aga Khan Palace somehow had a deeper, more poignant meaning. Gandhiji had been

held here during the 1942 Quit India movement and remained at the sprawling palace until 1944. This corner of Pune would forever be historic.

8216;8216;Would you like to try the box charkha?8217;8217; asked Sumitra Hazarika, craft teacher at the Vidyalay8217;s 10-month spinning and weaving course.

Yes, I would be more comfortable with the box charkha8212;apart from its horizontal shape, it resembled the popular version. Besides, the six-spindle stuff looked far too menacing.

The box held two wooden discs of different sizes and there were threads connected at their ends which would go around grooves in the discs.

8216;8216;This is only used on occasions like October 2. For professional purposes, we stick to the new model,8217;8217; said Hazarika, as her dexterous hands got to work.

A thread connected at the charkha8217;s ends went across from the smaller to the bigger disc and another such thread went across to the other side of the box where a spindle was placed behind a bridge, much like a violin. 8216;8216;Here, watch me do it,8217;8217; said Hazarika, as her right hand turned the bigger disc in the box, while the left held a ball of cotton.

The spindle already had some yarn on it8212;she took the loose end of the yarn and held it along with the ball of cotton.

With every furious turn of the larger disc, she would move the left hand away from the spindle and a thin skein of yarn began to form. 8216;8216;Pull an arm8217;s length, then turn the right wheel around twice. This fastens the thread on the spindle,8217;8217; she said. 8216;8216;Then bring your hand close to the spindle again so that the yarn falls in place on what has already been spun. This way the fall of the thread is neat and consistent,8217;8217; Hazarika added.

I followed the instructions, but soon realised, as the pile of broken thread grew larger, that it was not going to be easy. 8216;8216;It takes 15 days to learn the box charkha8212;the new model is easier,8217;8217; Hazarika smiled, as she patiently explained the process to me.

Half an hour on, I was still trying to coax the yarn out of the ball of cotton in my hand.

But I also realised the spinning had a meditative quality, one which put the spinner into a calmer frame of mind.

An hour later, when I finally succeeded in getting some yarn on to the spindle, I felt a surge of excitement. Finally, I must have done something right.

I had a new respect for khadi, my preferred choice of fabric in those early idealistic years of journalism8212;it needed more skill to make than I imagined.

8216;8216;This is just the beginning, you still have to weave the khadi cloth. You need to have skill,8217;8217; she said pointedly. Obviously, in this case it was sorely lacking.

The next time I am told to spin some yarn, I8217;ll stick to the type I8217;m more familiar with, I thought as I walked out with those teeny little strands I8217;d spun.