A Hundred Year Old Khadi Fabric

2019 has ended and 2020 has just begun. Last one year was quite challenging one and it was rightfully so, we believe. While some parts of 2019 gave us jitters, the others brought joy, excitement, awe and a sense of fulfillment. The later kind of event happened few days back when our friends invited us for lunch to their house.

So, on the morning of 24^th December, 2019; Rameshwari received a call, inviting us over a lunch, from Uma ji (Uma Tewari), who along with Ramesh ji (both of them had an amazing career in Advertising sector) now run a beautiful handcrafted brand ‘Then & Now’ out of Delhi. Their Jor Bagh house undoubtedly spoke the language that the brand adheres to! We did a round of their small workshop too, which was warm and cosy. We also had the chance to meet Uma ji’s mother Mrs. Bulbul Tewari who is lovingly called- Naani by everyone. After an amazing lunch while we were sitting around the heater for warmth in their naturally lit living room on that cold wintry Delhi noon, the stories about crafts started flowing. That is when Naani ji shared the story about this piece of fabric that she got from her grandmother!

As the story goes, Naani ji’s Naani (Mrs. (Late) Shiva Khurana) was born approximately around 1880’s in a small town in Gujrat District (Now Pakistan) later moving to Dehradun around 1910 where Bulbul Naani lived till she got married to an Army Officer. Shiva Khurana used to spin yarn at home in her teen years (around early 1900s). She would then give it to a local weaver to weave it into fabric that she would use later to make her clothes. The white fabric in the video is the very same Khadi fabric that Mrs. Tewari got from her grandmother when she was young. She now uses this cloth in her prayer room. The fabric is made in plain weave and must be around 20s x 35s count. The fabric is in excellent condition and is washed regularly. Another, testament to the durability of Khadi fabric.

It is interesting how we have hidden gems lying all around us and we barely give a thought to them. What we might be taking lightly, can of extreme importance to others. Hence, we sincerely believe in talking and sharing the stories that we come across. Who knows what you might just experience and learn!

Naani ji, an army wife, is now 80 years old. She used to teach History at Balbharati Airforce School. An amazing person to be around, and of course, with many more stories to share, we hope that we would be getting more opportunities to meet and listen to her.

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