43. Bapu's Khadi Movement and Ba

In the beginning of the Khadi movement, started by Bapu, the cloth that was spun and woven was not only coarse, but also of short length. The result was that often two pieces had to be sewn up together to make a dhoti or sari. This made the sari particularly heavy and so not easy to carry. Therefore, some women once argued with Bapu to this effect. He replied, "Difficult to carry for you women, who carry a child's weight for nine long months! And, that too, for the sake of the country and to protect the honour of the poor women ?"

Then they offered another counter-argument, "But the sari is so heavy that it is difficult to wash it every day."

At this Bapu laughed and answered, "Well, then we menfolk would wash your saris!"

As the leader of the women, who argued on the point with Bapu, happened to be Ba, he said further, "It took a lot of coaxing on my part to persuade Ba to take to socks and boots in South Africa, and a little less of coaxing when, years afterwards, I tried to dissuade her from using them. But it appears I shall have to do a lot more of cajoling this time to persuade Ba to take to the Khadi sari."

However, shortly afterwards Ba, too, adopted Khadi for her habitual wear.