Lalit Shastri Speaks:
When I was a student of Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1978, I had stopped wearing Khadi. Since then, I have not even touched it.
There is a story behind it. On 2nd October that year, I went to buy a set of khadi kurta and pyjama from Khadi Gramodyog Bhawan near Regal Cinema, at Cannought Place. Every year I used to buy my annual requirement of khadi Kurta Pyjamas from khadi bhawan around Gandhi Jayanti to avail the benefit of subsidised prices.
While.trying to have my pick, I found that the cloth of what the salesman was showing me was too thick and course. when I asked him why he was not showing the shining white stuff like the one Sanjay Gandhi is seen wearing all the time. The salesman's reply threw me off balance. He told me that's also available but I would have to shell out Rs 1000 per meter and for one set of pyjama kurta, I would need 5 meters.
That summed up my visit to Khadi bhawan. The next moment, I rushed out and never entered another khadi showroom again.
