Khadi Story in Tricolour Palette

Keeping His Family Legacy Alive, A 58-Year-Old Tailor Crafts National Flags in Khadi in Chidambaram, Not for Profit But to Celebrate the Spirit of Independence

- BAGALAVAN PERIER B @Chidambaram

The wearing of khadi replaces the conventional idea of wearing clothes for ornament by that of wearing them for use," Mahatma Gandhi wrote in Young India in 1924. Nearly a century later, the words still echo in Chidambaram. Behind the clatter of a sewing machine, tailor P Nandhagopal bends over strips of saffron, white and green, keeping alive a family tradition that has outlasted shifting fashions, collapsing tailoring businesses, and a tide of disposable flags.

At 58, Nandhagopal is a part of the second generation in his family to craft national flags from khadi, a legacy started by his father Perumal over two decades ago. For him, the act is not mere work, but a mission — to honour khadi as an emblem of independence and an environmentally-conscious choice.