Female inmates of Tihar Jail weave gundi for the tourists to be used as entry tickets at Heritage Charkha Museum
Mamta Rani was standing in a long queue to get her turn to have a tricolour gundi (a garland made of khadi yarn) at Palika Park in Connaught Place. “It means a lot for me as it is not only a ticket of entry to this Heritage Charkha Museum. Instead, it is a token of respect to Mahatma Gandhi by the women inmates of Tihar – who are exhaling their past and inhaling their future. And, that too – with the tool of self-reliance – used by Bapu during the Freedom Struggle,” she said after getting this entry ticket.
The Heritage Charkha Museum, set up by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in collaboration with New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), is a conclave of novel ideas – propagated and advocated by Mahatma Gandhi. Not only it is aimed to promote tourism through Charkha – as the turnout on its first day on Monday was 1,522 and more than 1,500 on Tuesday and Wednesday, rather it gives an opportunity to have a sense of social acceptance to those 10 female inmates of Tihar Jail – who weave ‘tricolour gundi’ for the tourists, used as entry ticket.
Interestingly, the KVIC has considered the name of the lady Ganga Ben – who discovered Charkha for Gandhiji. “After several rounds of discussion in this regard, we finally decided christen the cottage as ‘Ganga Ben Kutir’. It will be a highest tribute to Gandhiji and Ganga Ben,” says Mr Vinai Kumar Saxena, the KVIC Chairman, adding, “The women inmates daily come here amid supervision of jail authorities at 10 am and weave till 6 pm. It is a way to generate employment opportunities for them as they earn Rs 200 per day through weaving. It will certainly help these inmates become more acceptable in society as skilled hands once they leave jail after serving their terms.”
Meanwhile, the Hetitage Charkha Museum authorities informed that presently entry fee had been fixed Rs 20 as trial. “Once the trial offer will be over, the entry fees will be Rs 20 for children below 12 years and Rs 50 for adults,” informed one of the NDMC officials there.
It may be noted that the KVIC, in association with NDMC, has set up this Heritage Charkha Museum, showcasing 50 to 100 year old charkhas, gifted to KVIC by the owners of these charkhas. The charkha, run by the PM on Oct 18, 2016 at ludhiana, has also been kept permanently in the museum for display for general public there.