Even as Belagavi is all decked up to welcome the Congress leaders to commemorate the 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi presiding the party’s only session as its president in 1924 here, but there is a village just 25 km away from the city, where Bapu spent seven days and the villagers here still follows his principles with none of them consuming alcohol and tobacco products and also becoming self- reliant by adopting Khadi works.
Hudali, situated just 25.km away from Belagavi is one of the villages known for practicing Khadi and also adopting the principles of Mahatma Gandhi.
About still 200 villagers are indulged in the work of Khadi and charkha and about 1,000 people are engaged in preparing the hand woven towels, bed sheets and other clothes.
The people in Hudali village still remember the visit of Mahatma Gandhi and the hut along with other 500 huts which was prepared for his stay in 1937.
The villagers here recall that how the huts were damaged in Hudali village when Mahatma Gandhi had arrived there on the request of Gangadharrao Deshpande, who was very instrumental in brining Bapu to Belagavi in 1924 for his lone presidential meeting for the Congress.
Recalling the visit of Mahatma Gandhi, CB Modge mentioned that Gandhiji came to the village on the request of Deshpande.
He said, “For the Congress leaders there were 500 huts that were constructed. However, due to heavy rain and storm all the huts were damaged. Then they were shifted to Kumari Ashram. Even when heavy rains were there, Bapu every day came to village and addressed the villagers.”
Modge said that Gandhiji during his visit asked the villagers here to adopt Khadi for self-Reliance and since then Khadi became a way of life.
Modge said that about 200 villagers came forward for taking up charkha and since then that tradition is still alive in the village.
He also said that about 1,000 villagers have taken up the work of weaving, charkha and others and they have become self-reliant, the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi.
Recalling another moment about Harijan Kariyappa, while showing his picture, Modge, who is now 84, said, “Mahatma Gandhi about Kariyappa that what he does. To this Kariyappa replied that they build leather slippers and then Mahatma Gandhi asked for one. And the same was presented to him in seven days by Kariyappa, which Bapu took with him.”
Modge said that leather slipper of Mahatma Gandhi is kept in the national capital in museum.
Meanwhile, Raghvendra, who is the secretary of the Khadi centre in Mudali said that he was happy thebway in which people in the village are still following the path of non-violence, self reliance, saying no to alcohol and tobacco products and not fighting and eradicating untouchability in the village.
Raghavendra said that the villagers here don’t consume alcohol and tobacco products and it’s result is that there is no alcohol shop near the village.
He also highlighted that hardly there is any fight in the village on communal lines or on caste lines.
“Here people live peacefully by following the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi. People here are self reliant with the work of Khadi and this was the first village where Khadi and charkha became the symbol,” he said, showing towards the Gandhi Gangadhar Bhawan, which was the place where Bapu stayed for seven days.
He further said that many people of the village still follows Bapu’s teachings and they look towards him as theirnrole model as the Khadi work has made them self reliant.
He highlighted that the Khadi products prepared by the villagers make them profit as there are four centres of the product store — three in Belgavi and one in the village, where even pickels prepared under Khadi banner are also sold.
However, the villagers are yet to hear from the senior Congress leaders if any of the Gandhi family members would be visiting there during the two day session of the Congress extended CWC being held in Belagavi.
One of the villager saidnthat the state government released Rs 4 lakh for the upkeep of the Gandhi Sadan in Hudali and the walls of the hut have been given fresh paint job and several photographs have been restored there.
