It was a few days ago when I saw this extremely tall man in the midst of a horde of shoppers in the market, standing completely dressed in red along with a hat holding a board which stated “KHADI MELA 2015”, this guy was directing the mob towards this Khadi Fest which had started a few days ago.
I too along with the crowd moved inside, as I entered I could see plethora of stalls representing different states of India which offered huge variety of products available. I must say, there where variety of products available ranging from healthcare, skincare to clothing, (also Salman Khan’s kurta which he wore in bajrangi bhaijaan) and definitely worth a try. And ladies, you need to check out the variety of khadi cotton and silk sarees and kurtis!!!!
Honestly I never even thought khadi would actually have such diversity in its product line, did you? As soon as we hear this word all we can imagine is Gandhi Ji with that charkha and the politicians wearing khadi, don’t we? Because Khadi for all these years has always been associated with big netas and politicians. But guys after watching the mela, I can say it is much more than that.
Last year our honourable Prime Minister, Modi Ji while addressing the entire country in his Mann Ki Baat, asked the people to buy khadi cloths and products in festivals, he further said “that doesn’t mean use only khadi but give it some place in your life”. Not surprisingly, the sales at khadi bhawan in New Delhi boosted by 125 percent and there was special demand for the Modi jacket.
I did a few researches over this. In response to this high demand, Khadi has resort to a full fledge planning for revival of the sick khadi and village industry. It is taking a massive leap in manufacturing and marketing of its products.
It is now widening its horizons, it no longer is confined to the political or elite class and it wants to cater all of us and especially the youth. Therefore khadi has now planned to launch khadi denims, t shirts tops, kurtis, etc, for men as well as women apparently this October. Also, it may go online within a few months after considering growing significance of e-commerce.
All this development has taken acceleration, thanks to Modi Ji mentioning khadi in Mann ki Baat. One thought which came to my mind is how ignorant have we become of our country, we have no idea about our own heritage which the world admires. It was only after the Modi Ji’s speech that all of us (excluding our grandparent’s generation) came to know about khadi.
Do you know khadi and all its products are handmade and of high quality? Khadi cloth is made without using any machine which uses electricity, coal, diesel or any energy or power. Most of the people involved in the production belong to rural India and therefore khadi plays a significant role in the growth of MSME’s.
Often we complain that khadi is too costly, in fact it is not as much you think but yes it more than the ones which are manufactured in bulk and through mechanization, reason being its non mechanization and handmade production which takes a lot of time because the work done is of fine quality.
And even if it is too costly, I would like to ask you one simple question, don’t you spend thousands of rupees while shopping for various expensive foreign brands? Just because they are produced by foreign nations, you think it is good enough to spend on them rather than your own countries domestic brand?
Guys I would like you to support that now our own khadi is now emerging as a brand – Khadi India and its products which are offered are completely natural, free from chemicals and adulteration. From soaps, shampoos, face masks and honey to the cotton and silk used to manufacture saris and dresses. One more you must not have known is that it is very skin friendly. It has also grown as an international brand too, people all over the world are allured by its environment friendly aspect.
Why should we import things when we already have a high quality domestic manufacturer. If you can spend for quality products abroad, then why not in India?
We buying khadi would lead to employment of thousands of deprived and underprivileged rural masses and would greatly contribute to their empowerment. We are a population of 100 crores and more, if all of us buy only one khadi product in a year it would still have so much impact. If at all each one of or 50 percent of our population frequently uses these products – you can imagine the impact!
I believe as a consumer we should buy the best product available within our budget constraint irrespective of whether it is domestically produced or imported, but on the other hand as a citizen of India it is our collective responsibility to empower the deprived masses of our nation.
And if by compromising a little bit of consumerism we can lead a nation to a higher platform, it is no big deal.
