Last month, the Independence Day celebrations were held in a grand manner at the historic Red Fort, Delhi on August 15. Apart from many revered personalities from the political field, the event was also witnessed by 60 artisans from different walks of life who were invited as special guests. One of those many artisans is Machagiri Shobha who hails from Jammikunta in Karimnagar district in Telangana.
Shobha is a living example of how hard work over the ages will grant you recognition in the long run. She has been involved in the work of spinning yarn on a loom for the past 30 years. After doing it for three decades, she received national recognition after the central government sent a special invitation to her to grace the three-day national flag-hoisting ceremony. A beneficiary of the PM Vikas Scheme, Shobha has been left teary-eyed with emotions at her work being appreciated by the government and being asked to join a national event.
Jammikunta is a small town but has been instrumental in providing Khadi services as a branch of Vavilala Khadi, which was conceived by Mahatma Gandhi. Swami Ramanand Tirtha, Dwaraka Lele, Sahasrabuddhi and Pangrekar Angle, associates of Mahatma Gandhi, founded the institution in 1924 and have since upheld Gandhian principles.
At Vavivala, a wide variety of clothing is woven, including saris, lungis, handkerchiefs, shawls, jeans, shirts, carpets and many other items. With 400 contract weavers and artisans working for the institution and about 80 full-time employees, they continue to manufacture high-quality materials.
Jammikunta is one of many towns which house branches of Vavivala. Shobha has been associated with this organisation for thirty years and is one of the artisans spinning yarn through charkha on a daily basis. 25 other women are also employed in a similar manner in the town presently.
When former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao served as chairman of Vavilala Khadi in the past, the Jammikunta branch received positive attention. He made Jammikunta a distribution hub for Khadi products shipped elsewhere in the country.