Hand spinning -- India; India -- Economic conditions; Manufactures -- India
Forty-nine spinning wheels are here regularly at work, over and above
twenty-five others which are reserved for beginners. All these are
worked three to six hours per day. Some are worked for even seven or
eight hours. After a month's training, a friend worked twelve to
fourteen hours daily for a number of days and thus proved the
possibility of earning three annas a day. Another, a sister, spun nine
to ten hours daily for some days after finishing her round of domestic
business. In a month and a half, she had spun enough to get _sadlas_ and
other cloth woven out of yarn spun by herself, and actually began
wearing these things. She is now-a-days spinning at the rate of eight
hours a day. One day there was something wrong with this lady's
_rentia_. She referred the matter to the present writer who set it
right. But she was not satisfied. She complained again, and again was
the _rentia_ operated upon. But the wheel apparently suffered from some
occult malady, which she was at a loss to diagnose. Every time its
spinning power would get enfeebled. At last the poor lady lost all
patience and was almost ready to weep. This was reported to me, and this
time I examined the wheel very critically and effected a perfect cure.
It now moved merrily, and merrily did the sister proceed with her work.
It is very desirable that all the wheels in a spinning-class be kept in
a perfect condition. When that is the case, the spinner does not tire
and works cheerfully and speedily. Our class is attended by five ladies,
who spin five or six hours every day, and by twenty-three students of
the Ashram school, of whom eighteen are boys and five are girls. The
conduct of this class is not an easy job. Their spirits are in continual
need of cheering. Some of them spin very rapidly. But sometimes there is
a grievous attack of head-ache, at other times the still more grievous
attack of idleness. Sometimes the hand is fatigued, at other times the
wheel gets out of repair.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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