Charkha
The hand-turned spinning wheel that twists loose fibre into yarn, closely tied to the history of khadi.
Also: spinning wheel, takli, chakra
A charkha is a spinning wheel turned by hand. Loose cotton fibre is drawn out by the spinner's other hand as the wheel twists it into a thread, which is wound on a spindle. The simplest tool for the same work is the takli, a small hand spindle. The charkha became the symbol of Gandhi's call for self-reliance, and it appears at the centre of the flag of the Indian National Congress of that time. Multi-spindle charkhas have since been developed, so that a spinner makes more yarn in the same hours. Hand-spun yarn is uneven, which gives khadi its look.