Democracy Board
Our views on the weekly Khadi Day in school
Vishwi Pishwi
Khadi. Seems like an unfamiliar word until the recent tradition of wearing it every Monday but for me ever since I was a young girl
my mother would take me to numerous exhibitions where I would be behind her following her deligently.
But little to my knowledge ironically I became familiar with different kinds of natural materials and had a different kind of attraction towards them.
At this point I have developed a taste for them unknowingly and my eyes wander towards them every single time!
When the opportunity presented itself to me in the form of a problem I thought to myself "why not?"
The generation I come from a big chunk of them don't find it very cool to wear khadi because they often relate it with old people and hence don't find it very appealing to wear khadi.
A lot of people even after a few weeks of announcement found it hard to find fashionable, trendy and most importantly soft and comfortable khadi.
I knew that was my cue.
I dug into my phone and found the resources which I had treasure for years and in the first week of July I launched the khadi line!
I always planned to start something like this but I had no clue I would start so soon it's a blessing in disguise because when I took Enterpreneurship as a subject we were not told we would have to do business in order to understand it better but I am so glad because with this project I got to learn new social skills I got to communicate with my juniors and suprisingly my seniors, I found out I had marketing skills, I still am trying to understand how to handle accounts which seems impossible but I know I will get there too!
This project has helped me find a new confidence in myself and helped me professionally as well as personally it's given me a new purpose and I hope others also explore this opportunity because my best has come out of making mistakes!
Problem= opportunity!
Vishwa Adapawar
XII C
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Khadi : a wonder fabric
Khadi is popularly referred to as India’s wonder fabric, and I completely agree. Imagine an intricate, handwoven, beautiful fabric made with TLC and you get our beloved khadi. Khadi has been pushed aside like an afterthought ever since the introduction of cheaper, faster western fabrics but our school, along with many others is making the push to expose khadi to the youth.
I personally believe this is a great move because it promotes localisation, supports artisans and small businesses and of course, shows the youth that Indian fabrics are just as striking as polyester baby tees and corduroy trousers. It also creates business for amazing student-owned projects like Vishwa Adapawar’s VishwiPishwi. Khadi is regal in a minimal, bare way, almost as much as its minimal carbon footprint. Honestly, I researched khadi much deeper while writing this article and the statistics on the production of this unique textile shocked me. It consumes no energy, takes only 3 litres of water per metre of fabric (keep in mind, the average fabric would take 55 litres per metre!) and it also supports small cottage industries. I’m not writing this article superficially, or trying to convey a message I do not believe in, I genuinely think our youth needs to ignite a dormant fire and create a modern India that relies mainly on an important fragment of our heritage, handwoven textiles such as khadi. To directly support the weavers of our cloth and of our future, therefore leading to the prevention of the degradation of our ecosystem by unsustainable fabrics.
Clothing can start a revolution, in fact, it’s already started multiple, and I don’t see why Indian textiles shouldn’t get a few revolutions of their own.
Turya Bhatkar
X Plum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m87VxKg5j7w
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Khadi, a cloth made of cotton, fabricated and popularized by Gandhi is of great importance in becoming self-dependent. Khadi day is observed in the school, wherein students and teachers come in a Khadi attire. According to me, The Khadi Day is a very thoughtful way to commemorate our Indian history, especially the freedom struggle. Further, I feel that it also inspires the students to feel proud of their cultural heritage. However, the Khadi Day hasn’t garnered as much significance as it should have among the students. Students feel obliged to wear the Khadi attire as a part of the school uniform. I believe that they haven’t adapted to it and do not understand the need for it. As to say, the regular school uniform identifies the student to be of the school and symbolizes equality among them, whilst, the sports uniform divides the students into houses. The concept of Khadi Day needs to be popularized to increase awareness and participation of the students.
Advait Deshmukh
IX Beige
“Khadi day which happens every Monday is an initiative by TOS, the objective is to celebrate Gandhiji's 250th birth anniversary as well as the 75th independence day
Mahatma Gandhi greatly encouraged the use of khadi but at the time it was an expensive material now that it is more affordable it is used as a token of appreciation and celebration of Gandhi’s efforts and compromises.
I like the idea of khadi day and hope to continue it so that we can appreciate the bravery and sacrifice of our freedom fighters”
Kanush D
X Plum
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The weekly khadi day is a great initiative that aims to instill the sense of patriotism among students. According to me, this initiative is a great idea however, it is not being implemented properly. Students can be seen wearing clothes that are to their liking rather than khadi, this may be due to the lack of khadi in their closet and also because it is not readily available in bulk at stores.
For the same purpose of instilling patriotism in young minds, we can maybe change this day to one where students can wear Indian made accessories or khadi clothes, an option can be given between the two.
Overall, khadi day is a great idea but its success lies in the level of implementation.”
Aranya Misra
X Plum
Lavanya Bansal
VIII Honeydew
The weekly Khadi day is not really a problem for me. The only concern is that the material is uncomfortable to be in during long school hours, and is also hard to find. I would prefer if cotton or traditional clothes were also allowed.
Neel Prabhat
X Plum
Khadi day in school is a good way to appreciate all the work Mahatma Gandhi did in making and promoting khadi clothes. It represents the beauty of Indian culture. When everyone in school comes and wears the kurtas and the dresses made of khadi, it sends a message of togetherness.
Khadi day is an initiative unique to the Orchid School. Most schools would not go to this extent and keep a khadi day.
A negative of khadi day is that some students take it very lightly and wear whatever they wish to instead of khadi.
Sometimes people go over the top in what they wear but that is nonessential. At the end of the day, the higher ups can decide and implement new rules if needed.
Arav Kotkar
X Plum
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‘Khadi’ day is a great move towards paying tribute as well as respect towards the promoter of the khadi material ‘Mahatma Gandhi’.
The ‘weekly khadi day’ helps in bringing unity among the people of the school that impacts the outer society by spreading the popularity of khadi/ khadi outfits and increasing production and sales of the same.
Khadi outfits are widely used in india. As khadi is an old fabric and tradition people may consider it an ‘outdated outfit’, but the promotion and impact of wearing it in this modern era increases awareness among the teens which make it popular fabric again.
Maitriya More
X Plum
Anvi Maniyar
VII
Rayhan Khanna
VIII Pearl
In my opinion, Khadi Day is a very good idea, as it preserves and enhances our Indian culture and helps us to bring it back. It is executed in a very good manner, though I do believe that the school should give us more information on this topic as we should understand the purpose behind it. I think every Monday, wearing khadi boosts the students’ feelings towards India. However, I feel wearing khadi can be a little uncomfortable as it can be tight sometimes and there is also the problem of shortage of khadi clothes these days.
Adiraaj Mandhare
X Plum
Lavanya Bansal
VIII Honeydew
Khadi day is a good idea. It enhances the patriotism and beauty of mother India. Although, in my opinion it can be improved by reducing the frequency of the same.Instead of keeping it as a weekly affair, . If it's kept once a month. then it will gain more value and become more special.
Soham Jadhav
X Plum
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1947, the year of independence, change and appreciation of nationalism. When we fought back to breathe, speak, eat and wear India. It has been 75 years since then. We now live in a more stable and secure country, and yet in the process of development, we forgot why we appealed for freedom in the first place. When a country wins its freedom, it wins its culture, its beliefs and values and restores the almost-forgotten roots. But somewhere along the way of modernisation, we drifted, following western culture and losing the essence of our freedom. One of our very own creations, in terms of the material we use and used to once live our lives in, is Khadi. When I originally heard about our own school’s plan in enhancing the youth’s appreciation towards this traditional wear, I was more intrigued than anything. While some might be apprehensive about the accessibility and price, I see it as the right decision. That is solely for the reason that our daily choices are as integral, if not more, to our sense of nationality and independence as much as our choice to recite a patriotic poem on national holidays. If you truly look into buying true quality Khadi, the access is not too much of a problem. The expense, in my opinion, is simply worth it, looking at the quality of the cloth and the time it takes to wear out. I feel there is a problem in how we practice wearing Khadi on monday, as too many students view it as an inconvenience rather than a privilege and a duty. I truly believe in investing in sustainable Khadi wear over fast fashion. It is a tribute to Gandhi ji’s choice behind the ‘poorna swaraj’ aspect of Khadi, a tribute we must give.
Kiara Welde
X Plum
Khadi day is a very interesting initiative taken by the school. In today’s world when we are all into T-shirts, hoodies, sneakers and other items of modern clothing, a day dedicated to traditional Indian clothing is very nice. This day also made us realize how much better we look in our traditional khadi attire. This was also the cloth that the Indians promoted when the foreign goods were boycotted at the time of British rule. Hence it also promotes a sense of nationalism and maybe a sign of respect to the founding fathers of our beloved country.
Pritish Mudgal
X Plum
The concept of Khadi Day at first was very new and tedious for me. It was tedious because I had to go out and buy a bunch of new clothes to wear in school for only 6 hours a week. I thought to myself, why could we not wear whatever we wanted instead?
But later, as the implementation of wearing Khadi began, the true beauty of this initiative was shown. Students and teachers at school wore Khadi in different colours and different types of the material as well. Their clothes were intricately designed by handloom workers.
I realised that Khadi Day was an appreciation of Indian culture, Indian artisans and designers who were otherwise not talked about enough before. I believe it is the spirit of India reduced to one day of the week.
Anushaa Jadhav
It is refreshing to see the school bring in such innovative ideas. By wearing Khadi during our 75th year of Independence, I too feel as if I have protested against the British Rule.
Shaurya Chandewar
I feel that this is a good way for students to rediscover their cultural heritage, rather than continuing to follow a more prevalent style of clothing. It is a good idea, which has been well implemented as I see many people are indeed wearing Khadi on Monday.
Amey Suttagati
In my very humble opinion, the weekly Khadi Day is an inspired idea. It enhances and boasts a students feeling toward India and Indian culture, as well as helps to inculcate good habits and pay homage to our freedom fighters.
However, I feel that the rule of wearing Khadi hasn't been strictly followed, showing disrespect to the norms laid down by our school.
Niel Thakur
This is a great gesture in memory of Mahatma Gandhi, promoting Indian clothes and locally sourced goods. It instills a sense of unity among the student body as "Indians", and shows us a glimpse of the hardships the freedom fighters endured in order to secure the freedom we enjoy today.
The disappointing fact is, not everyone follows the rule of wearing Khadi, maybe mainly due to the cost. Khadi clothes are expensive because it isn't a mainstream fabric. As there aren't many buyers, production is low and the cost of Khadi is high.
Arham Chordia
Khadi day is an initiative introduced to celebrate the 75th Year of Independence. It feels good to wear Khadi clothes, and adds an aura of patriotism to the wearer.
Daksh Jain
Khadi Day is a wonderful initiative taken by the school to support local Indian textile workers but the implementation is tedious for the students. Khadi is hard to find, and the number of stores is low, and the stores are not located close to the students' houses. It is also not available on popular online stores. This initiative will definitely improve the conditions that make Khadi so hard to buy, and will make it easily available to everyone.
Mihir Gupte
In my opinion, Khadi Day is a great idea for the students, as at least once a week we, as a student body, are honouring the years of the Freedom Struggle and our very own Indian merchandise.
The only issue here was, Khadi was extremely hard for most students to purchase. Fortunately the school took initiative and arranged a few days for a shop to be set up in the atrium in order to help students source Khadi clothing. Overall, it is a good idea.
Akshat Raj Mathur
I believe that the implementation of Khadi Day in our school is a good idea because it emphasizes and shows the importance of locally sourced merchandise, especially during our 75th Year of Independence. This day also promotes Khadi, which is essential considering that Khadi was an essential tool in the Freedom Struggle.
Siddhant Gupta
Khadi Day is a very good idea, a way of allowing us to understand the importance of our history. Its implementation however, leaves much to be desired as not many students wear actual khadi, interpreting the day as an allowance to wear kurtas or traditionals of any kind. Khadi is expensive and harder to source as compared to cotton kurtis which are mass produced in factories, easier to source and far cheaper.
It was a good idea but implemented needs to be worked on.
Aadya Baste
Khadi day is a good way to support local artisans, while being stylish at the same time. I personally enjoy dressing in colourful traditionals and coming to school, it makes my Monday Mornings happier (and far more bearable!)
Khadi however, is very expensive and hard to source, so students should be allowed to wear regular traditional clothing as well.
Kanak Deshmukh
I would say that it is a very good idea to have a "Khadi Day" which promotes Indian culture. However simply wearing Khadi once a week is not enough. I would suggest that our school uniforms be made of Khadi or any local handloom material in order to truly promote our culture and support local textile businesses.
Aayushi Patra
As we are celebrating 75 Years if Independence , the idea of implementing Khadi Day this year is wonderful. Wearing Khadi, the students honour Mahatma Gandhi every Monday morning, making Khadi Day a great initiative by our school.
Tanav Sarode
Every week, on Monday, our school celebrates Khadi Day. On this day, we wear traditional Khadi clothes. It is a good idea that helps support local small businesses however the strictness needed to ensure every student is wearing genuine Khadi is completely lacking.
Anonymous