Khadi Poem by Asit Kumar Sanyal

Khadi means Khaddar
Handspun and hand-woven cloth
Made out of cotton
Also includes silk and wool
It's a versatile fabric
Cool in summer, warm in winter
And widely accepted in fashion circle
It's not only a cloth
But the icon of swadeshi movement
The movement for self-reliant
And better economy.

Khadi is Eco-friendly, green
It provides food to the poor spinners
Cotton farmers get money
Khadi is porous, comfortable, healthful
Austere, simple, symbol of aristocracy
It has zero carbon footprint
For producing one meter of khadi
The process needs 03 liters of water
As against 56 liters in the mill.

Besides cloth Khadi encompasses
Skin care, hair care and beauty product,
anti aging cream, soap, perfume,
cosmetics, deodorant and so on …
But it is a neglected sector
Needs revival, change of perception
KVIC took over this sector in 1957
But failed to attract youth
Still it's for poor, old and politicians.

KVIC had scope of creating
Job opportunities in rural India
In its mineral & forest based industry
Agro and food processing industry
Polymar industry
chemical based industry
Rural engineering
biotech industry
Handmade paper industry
Fiber industry
And service industry
But it could not do as planned.

Now Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Its brand ambassador
And fashion designer Ritu Beri
Is advisor to KVIC.