National Charkha Museum, Palika Bazar Garden, Connaught Place – A humble tool that challenged the British Empire

The British came to India to colonize us. They used the East India Company as means to brutally subjugate us. After that came the factories, the first one setup in Surat in 1613. While the East India Company dealt in lots of good, their main revenue came from textiles. So this is what was taught in our text books. British grew raw material in India and then shipped it back to their factories in England where it was converted to cloth. It was then shipped back to India to be sold in the local markets.

History of the Charkha

The industrial revolution drove the textile industry into modern productions methods. The manual spinning wheel was thrown into antiquity. It is a device which converts fibers into a thread of consistent thickness which can be used to weave a cloth.

The spinning wheel reached Europe somewhere around 1280. It might have come from the Islamic world. But the origin of the spinning wheel is under dispute between three ancient civilizations, India, China and Persia. It might have been invented in India as early as 500 AD. Traces of spun yarn are visible as early as The Indus Valley Civilization.

That would be ironic because Mahatma Gandhi weaponized the same spinning wheel to challenge the might of the British Empire backed by the power of their textile industry.

The word Charkha closely resembles the Sanskrit word Chakra which means a circle.

The symbol of India’s Freedom Struggle

In 1931, the Charkha appeared on the flag of India. Mahatma Gandhi encouraged the common people to spin the thread, the traditional way. That was a challenge to the discard the European style of clothing which had made a monopoly in India. The Charkha was part of a larger swadeshi movement with the final goal of boycotting all British made goods being sold in India.

It was a movement for which the British had no answer. Till date the charkha is used in India as a symbol of self reliance and soft power.

National Charkha Museum

Built on the Palika Bazaar garden, the Charkha Museum is elevated and provides a commanding view of a busy junction. Well maintained gardens make it a good place to soak in the winter sun. Also outside the museum is a 5 ton chromium stainless steel charkha 13 feet in height and 26 feet in length. It is non magnetic and rust resistant.

The museum hall contains 14 vintage models and depicts the weaving and spinning mechanism. An audio visual presentation covering the life of Mahatma Gandhi is also shown. These 14 charkhas have been donated by people from all over the country from their personal collection and range from 1912 to 1977.

The museum is open all days from morning to evening. (10 am to 9 pm). Nearest metro station is Rajiv Chowk.

The museum was inaugurated on 21st May 2017. You need to remove your shoes before entering. There is an entry ticket which has to be paid in cash only.

Camera Gear and Settings

Camera – Fujifilm X S-20
Lens – Tamron 18-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III-A VC VXD for Fujifilm X mount APS-C mirrorless camera
Film Simulation – Astia
Film Simulation Recipe – CineStill 400D v2

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Settings for CineStill 400D v2
Film Simulation : Astia
Grain Effect : Strong, Small (You can switch it off, if you do not want the grain effect)
Color Chrome Effect : Strong
Color Chrome FX Blue : Weak
White Balance : Fluorescent 1, -2 Red, +4 Blue
Dynamic Range : DR200
Highlight : -2
Shadow : 0
Color : +2
Sharpness : -2
High ISO NR : -4
Clarity : – 4
ISO : Auto (upto ISO 6400)
Exposure Compensation : As required