Charkha Spinning

As part of the Summer Camp Art Class, the children were introduced to charkha spinning — on the same type of spinning wheel that Mahatma Gandhi had designed ... and loved to use!

Spinning and weaving cotton holds a very special place in contemporary Indian history. We used these wonderful little machines to help the campers learn about the Independence Movement, how khadi is made, as well as the spiritual beauty that is inherent in the spinning itself. In order to create yarn (or thread) the spinner must keep focused on a single point in the fiber while they turn the wheel. If the focus is lost, the thread breaks!

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Vrindavan (Cranbury, NJ)

Vrindavan (Cranbury, NJ)