Jaipur:
In homes across Banetha village, 14 families sit at their looms, their hands a steady loop of motion, their feet peddling the handloom, weaving the cloth that will go into the making of the national flag. Weavers here weave cloth from thread spun from the
charkha, this pure white khadi is then sent out in the country to be dyed and made into the national flag.
Banetha village, 50 km from Jaipur, did not deliver the first flag unfurled at the Red Fort on Independence Day 67 years ago.
That honour belongs to neighbouring Aluda, where weaving has been abandoned as a trade. For the past 60 years, Banetha has produced the material for the tricolour.
Moolchand is 55 years old and the third generation of weavers. "The tricolour is woven in our village and nowhere else. It is a matter of pride for us that our small village contributes in a significant way to the nation, " he said.
But the honour is not enough to sustain families. Only 14 families in the village now engage in weaving. They say they get Rs 10 for every metre of cloth they produce, ensuring the craft's gradual extinction.