THREADS FROM THE ASHRAM: A PRESERVED ARCHIVE OF HAND-SPUN KHADI YARN PERSONALLY GIFTED BY MAHATMA GANDHI TO ANAND T HINGORANI, 1934–1946
A preserved devotional and archival group of hand-spun khadi yarn personally prepared and gifted by Mahatma Gandhi to Anand T Hingorani between 1934 and 1945, comprising approximately 10–12 preserved slivers, mini-skeins and braided strands of hand-spun cotton yarn surviving within a sequence of contemporary manuscript wrappers, postal packets, typed archival envelopes and devotional mounts retained by the Hingorani family.
The group includes a typed envelope bearing:
“Anand T. Hingorani: C-18/D, Munirka: New Delhi-110067”,
centrally typed:
“Bapu’s Yarn”,
containing a smaller brown manuscript wrapper inscribed in black ink:
“Bapu’s Yarn”;
another typed archival envelope bearing the same Munirka address and telephone number, centrally typed:
“Bapu’s Yarn”
“Spun at Karachi: 7th to 12th July, 1934”,
containing an earlier wrapper constructed from reused paper from The Hindu, Karachi, India, the manuscript inscription reads:
“Bapu’s yarn”
“spun at Karachi”
“from 7th to 12th July, ’34”;
a further Gandhi Series envelope printed in red with Anand T. Hingorani’s editorial address, containing a pink handmade paper postal wrapper headed:
“Sample Post Handspun Yarn”,
addressed to Anand T Hingorani at Upper Sind Colony, Karachi (Sind), with references to Sevagram, the left margin bearing a boxed notation:
“Bapu’s yarn / March 1945”,
and affixed with contemporary Indian postage stamps and postal cancellations;
another Gandhi Series envelope centrally typed:
“Bapu’s Yarn
“(20th July, 1945) ”,
containing a blue manuscript wrapper inscribed:
“Bapu’s yarn (20th July, 1945) ”;
also including a devotional presentation card bearing large Hindi manuscript calligraphy reading:
“बापू का काता सूत”
(Bapu ka kata sut / “Yarn spun by Bapu”),
mounted with a braided strand of preserved cotton yarn beneath transparent protective covering.
Together with:
Mahatma Gandhi. Note to Anand T Hingorani, 21 February 1945, handwritten in Hindi on reused paper, referring to yarn slivers and spinning activity, subsequently published in Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 85, Letter No. 684, pp. 617–618, including the observation:
"Yesterday more came out, but a problem arose; the spinning wheel was broken."
and
Mahatma Gandhi / Dr Sushila Nayyar. Letter to Anand T Hingorani, Sevagram, 7 February 1946, handwritten in Hindi in black ink, with Gandhi's autograph postscript, subsequently published in Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 89, recording:
"The slivers (Khadi Soot) for the last two months are included with this. Abha takes out the slivers but forgets to send them. "
Largest devotional mount approximately 18.2 x 12.1 cm
Other elements various sizes.
BAPU'S YARN: Gandhi's Hand-Spun Khadi and the Documentary Record of Its Preservation
This remarkable archive preserves hand-spun khadi yarn gifted by Mahatma Gandhi to Anand T Hingorani between 1934 and 1946. Comprising preserved slivers of cotton together with their original wrappers, postal packets, devotional mounts and accompanying correspondence, it offers an unusually complete record of Gandhi's spinning practice and the careful preservation of its products within the Hingorani family.
For Gandhi, spinning formed part of a daily discipline that united prayer and service. Khadi lay at the heart of his constructive programme, embodying Swadeshi, village industry and economic self-reliance while serving as a personal exercise in humility and self-purification. These strands of cotton therefore survive not simply as textile material, but as tangible evidence of one of the defining practices of Gandhi's life.
The original wrappers and postal packets preserve the history of the yarn's transmission. Together with the devotional presentation card inscribed:
“बापू का काता सूत” (Bapu ka kata sut / “Yarn spun by Bapu”)
The significance of the present group is considerably strengthened by two accompanying letters, both subsequently incorporated into the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. The first, dated 21 February 1945, records Gandhi's reference to yarn slivers then being produced, noting that "Yesterday more came out, but a problem arose; the spinning wheel was broken."
Even more important is the letter of 7 February 1946 from Sevagram. Writing to Anand Hingorani, Dr Sushila Nayyar explicitly stated:
"The slivers (Khadi Soot) for the last two months are included with this. Abha takes out the slivers but forgets to send them. "
Gandhi himself added a brief handwritten postscript conveying his blessings. Few surviving examples of Gandhi's hand-spun yarn retain such extensive documentary support. Here, the yarn, its wrappers and the accompanying correspondence establish an unbroken record of creation, transmission and preservation, linking the material object directly to the circumstances of its gift.
The present archive preserves the material expression of Gandhi's belief that personal discipline and national regeneration were inseparable. In these modest strands of hand-spun cotton survives the practice through which he united labour with prayer, simplicity with service, and work with the larger moral vision of Swaraj.
This lot will be shipped in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as a reference for the condition of each lot.
A preserved devotional and archival group of hand-spun khadi yarn personally prepared and gifted by Mahatma Gandhi to Anand T Hingorani between 1934 and 1945, comprising approximately 10–12 preserved slivers, mini-skeins and braided strands of hand-spun cotton yarn surviving within a sequence of contemporary manuscript wrappers, postal packets, typed archival envelopes and devotional mounts retained by the Hingorani family.
The group includes a typed envelope bearing:
“Anand T. Hingorani: C-18/D, Munirka: New Delhi-110067”,
centrally typed:
“Bapu’s Yarn”,
containing a smaller brown manuscript wrapper inscribed in black ink:
“Bapu’s Yarn”;
another typed archival envelope bearing the same Munirka address and telephone number, centrally typed:
“Bapu’s Yarn”
“Spun at Karachi: 7th to 12th July, 1934”,
containing an earlier wrapper constructed from reused paper from The Hindu, Karachi, India, the manuscript inscription reads:
“Bapu’s yarn”
“spun at Karachi”
“from 7th to 12th July, ’34”;
a further Gandhi Series envelope printed in red with Anand T. Hingorani’s editorial address, containing a pink handmade paper postal wrapper headed:
“Sample Post Handspun Yarn”,
addressed to Anand T Hingorani at Upper Sind Colony, Karachi (Sind), with references to Sevagram, the left margin bearing a boxed notation:
“Bapu’s yarn / March 1945”,
and affixed with contemporary Indian postage stamps and postal cancellations;
another Gandhi Series envelope centrally typed:
“Bapu’s Yarn
“(20th July, 1945) ”,
containing a blue manuscript wrapper inscribed:
“Bapu’s yarn (20th July, 1945) ”;
also including a devotional presentation card bearing large Hindi manuscript calligraphy reading:
“बापू का काता सूत”
(Bapu ka kata sut / “Yarn spun by Bapu”),
mounted with a braided strand of preserved cotton yarn beneath transparent protective covering.
Together with:
Mahatma Gandhi. Note to Anand T Hingorani, 21 February 1945, handwritten in Hindi on reused paper, referring to yarn slivers and spinning activity, subsequently published in Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 85, Letter No. 684, pp. 617–618, including the observation:
"Yesterday more came out, but a problem arose; the spinning wheel was broken."
and
Mahatma Gandhi / Dr Sushila Nayyar. Letter to Anand T Hingorani, Sevagram, 7 February 1946, handwritten in Hindi in black ink, with Gandhi's autograph postscript, subsequently published in Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol. 89, recording:
"The slivers (Khadi Soot) for the last two months are included with this. Abha takes out the slivers but forgets to send them. "
Largest devotional mount approximately 18.2 x 12.1 cm
Other elements various sizes.
BAPU'S YARN: Gandhi's Hand-Spun Khadi and the Documentary Record of Its Preservation
This remarkable archive preserves hand-spun khadi yarn gifted by Mahatma Gandhi to Anand T Hingorani between 1934 and 1946. Comprising preserved slivers of cotton together with their original wrappers, postal packets, devotional mounts and accompanying correspondence, it offers an unusually complete record of Gandhi's spinning practice and the careful preservation of its products within the Hingorani family.
For Gandhi, spinning formed part of a daily discipline that united prayer and service. Khadi lay at the heart of his constructive programme, embodying Swadeshi, village industry and economic self-reliance while serving as a personal exercise in humility and self-purification. These strands of cotton therefore survive not simply as textile material, but as tangible evidence of one of the defining practices of Gandhi's life.
The original wrappers and postal packets preserve the history of the yarn's transmission. Together with the devotional presentation card inscribed:
“बापू का काता सूत” (Bapu ka kata sut / “Yarn spun by Bapu”)
The significance of the present group is considerably strengthened by two accompanying letters, both subsequently incorporated into the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. The first, dated 21 February 1945, records Gandhi's reference to yarn slivers then being produced, noting that "Yesterday more came out, but a problem arose; the spinning wheel was broken."
Even more important is the letter of 7 February 1946 from Sevagram. Writing to Anand Hingorani, Dr Sushila Nayyar explicitly stated:
"The slivers (Khadi Soot) for the last two months are included with this. Abha takes out the slivers but forgets to send them. "
Gandhi himself added a brief handwritten postscript conveying his blessings. Few surviving examples of Gandhi's hand-spun yarn retain such extensive documentary support. Here, the yarn, its wrappers and the accompanying correspondence establish an unbroken record of creation, transmission and preservation, linking the material object directly to the circumstances of its gift.
The present archive preserves the material expression of Gandhi's belief that personal discipline and national regeneration were inseparable. In these modest strands of hand-spun cotton survives the practice through which he united labour with prayer, simplicity with service, and work with the larger moral vision of Swaraj.
This lot will be shipped in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as a reference for the condition of each lot.