OCR Text |
Show own people producing whatever is for our requirements. Whe e do this, it is obvious that our ncxzhlx)urhrmd will hum with activit Agnc\lhum and indiusties will once more be xestored 0 2 state of equ rium and no one can prevento perous In the annual report of the "r\U lndmVlllagc Industries Association for 1935, published in Wardha, I find this comment upon papermaking "Papermaking is a simple industry, needing little equipment and withi the capacity of women and children in the home. Itis not intended to mak handmade paper compete with machinemade paper, but if mmcd on i can bring wealth (o the villagers. The Association has experimented wit luce very thin, light, non-absorbent paper, a ream weighing only fou o five pounds, whereas a ream of foolscap paper weighs six pounds. Th paper made ordinarily in villages at present is thick and allows the ink t soak through. 1.do ot believe that a person thoroughly acqudlnmd with the craft o aper by hand would describe papermaking as "a simple industry ne L{mg little equipment and within the capacity of women and childre in the home." This assertion, I daresay, was intended to apply only t Indian papermaking, where the craft has never been developed beyon the primary stage. During my visits in Indian papermaking centres I wa even the papers produced in Kashmir, nor were the workers of Hyderaba familiar with paper fabricated in the Punjab. Wherever I wen in India th artisans would inquire about the madu_r operandi of another locality in thei country perhaps not more than two hundre and fifty miles distant. Th permakers cannot afford to travcl and the exchange of specimens between districts is hampered not only by language difficulties, but also b Digtal image © 2005 MarriottLibrary Universit of Utah, All rihts reserved |