Khadi Kendra, Garag

June 28, 2021

Plan for the day was to meet a friend at Belur Industrial Area and then meet another friend at Jeeragiwad village. When Durga got to know about my plan she asked if she could join. That was a good idea because she would get to see a factory and rural life around Dharwad.

My friend, Mr. Sirdesai's factory is an ancillary to auto industry, aluminum-glass windows for buses and earth moving equipment are manufactured there. During the introductory chat, we got to know that Mr. Sirdesai and Durga were students of the same boarding school near Ooty. Their batches were a few decades apart, despite his seniority, the respect displayed by Mr. Sirdesai was profound. Durga got to see various aspects of production- raw material i.e. aluminum sections, glass & other stuff; machinery & plant layout; the assembly line, and a few finished goods. Mr. Sirdesai patiently explained and answered Durga's questions. I hadn't expected Durga to show interest in machines, the interaction was a pleasant surprise.

Next in our agenda was Jeeragiwad. On the way is Garag, the village where khadi cloth for our national flag is made. As we approached the village, I decided to visit Khadi & Yarn Production Center. This was one opportunity for Durga to see it, might as well use it. There are two Khadi and yarn production units at Garag both under the organization named Garag Kshetriya Seva Sangha. This is the entrance to the administration & production center. 

 Straight ahead is an yard enclosed by tile-roof buildings on four sides. The buildings are probably 50 years old. The one on the left houses the office and the remaining are production centers.

The simple office and humble office-bearers of a great organization which provides fabric for our national flag.

The office furniture too is traditional, so is the working culture. The cushions and covers are also Khadi. Photos of renowned Indian leaders adorn the office walls: Sardar Patel, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, M K Gandhi, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Lal Bahadur Shastri and a few other eminent personalities.

The workshop has a supervisor's desk with a pair of weighing scales to measure the output of individual workers and quality control. Also there's an assortment of mechanical tools required for maintenance work of looms and spinning machines.

Two rows of handlooms facing each other is the standard layout here.

The inputs for each handloom is tightly spun khadi yarn which are perpendicular to each other mesh into each other producing the fabric. The workers have to match the output to given specifications. The yarns have to weigh certain grams for a given length. Same for the cloth- so many yarns per centimeter, and so many grams per square meter. The workers and supervisors have to be alert at all stages of the production because everything has to be monitored manually.

Here's a part view of the handloom operator's view. A marks the yarn in one direction (perpendicular to operator's view) and B is the fabric. A pair of wooden slats mesh the intersecting yarns tightly into each other producing the fabric.   

Shri Ekbote shows us a recently produced fabric. Each worker has a production target. As I know the fabric is sent to Gujarat Khadi Kendra where the fabric is dyed and flags are stitched. We had a tight schedule, so we did not delve into the details. We thanked the two office bearers here and left.

This is the scene at the other production unit which is about a kilometer away. These are the starched yarn hung outside for drying. I guess starch improves the yarn's bonding i.e. tensile strength.

The buildings at this unit are also old, probably 50+ years old. Situated on the outskirts, this place has a peaceful ambiance. Here, the supervisor was a man and yarn machines and looms were operated by women. The supervisor showed us various stages of the yarn making process. Originally cotton was made into yarns at Garag. For some reason the state government shifted that activity to a facility in Chitradurga which supplies the basic yarn to Garag unit. Here the basic yarn undergoes several iterations before it is ready for weaving.

Here are the three stages of the yarn. The bottom most is basic yarn and the top one is final.

Here's a short video which shows part of the process- 1. how the yarns are made and 2. weaving khadi fabric in a handloom.

Durga checks out a few colored yarns. Besides fabric for our national flag, fabric is also produced for kurtas, towels, napkins, handkerchiefs, and jamkhanas (large floor mats). 

This is the machine with which the smaller spools of yarns are transferred to a master spool. The tall stand holds around 192 small spools - all the tarn from these 192 spools is transferred to one master spool.

The supervisor gave a quick demo- he turns the lever which slows pulls the yarn from the stands and winds them around the master spool. The demo can be seen in the above video.

Here's one spool which is ready to be loaded on to a loom.

The humble peaceful handlooms. When in operation, the clickety clackety sounds are like music. One must see the ladies operate them to truly feel the beauty of the setup.

At one end of the handloom center sits this modern Charaka. I guess this is used to spin a tighter yarn rather than to produce yarn from cotton.

With this our short tour comes to an end. We thank the supervisor and leave.

Here's a flag I'd purchased from Garag Khadi Kendra late 90s. I had taken this Tiranga to Savandurga once, otherwise it's always at home. Tiranga of different sizes can be purchased from Khadi Kendra outlets at Dharwad. There are two in the market area- 1. near Gandhi Chowk on Subhas Road and 2. near Ram Mandir on Tikare Road.

Whenever you are at Dharwad on a weekday, try to visit Garag Khadi Kendra once. The place & its people deserve some attention.

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