This photograph is more than a glimpse into domestic life; it reflects a lifetime of patience, skill, and selfless service expressed through the humble acts of spinning and knitting.
Heera Devi Yami came from a maternal family with strong trade links to Tibet. Raw wool brought by Tibetan traders from Lhasa travelled along Himalayan routes and entered her household, where it was transformed from a traded material into warmth and comfort for many.
In this image, she sits at a traditional hand-driven spinning wheel, engaged in a craft she had perfected over years. Her steady posture, bare feet resting firmly on the wooden base, and the confident movement of her hands show the ease and familiarity of long practice. This is not a staged moment, but a daily ritual of skilled work.
She never depended on market wool. From raw fleece, she undertook every step herself — cleaning, carding, spinning, and winding the thread into yarn. With this yarn, she knitted sweaters for her family and made heavy woolen blankets that protected against severe winters.
Yet her efforts reached far beyond her own home.
At a time when arrests and underground political activity affected many families, Hiradevi quietly shared her labor with those in need. She prepared blankets and woolens for prisoners, for underground activists, for families left without support, and for neighbors and relatives facing hardship. These gestures were not mere charity; they were expressions of solidarity and compassion. The warmth she created by hand found its way into prison cells and troubled homes, bringing comfort where it was desperately needed.
Her life embodied the spirit of self-reliance associated with that era. Without seeking attention or recognition, she lived the principle of swadeshi in practice — producing everything at home from raw material that arrived through age-old trade connections, free from dependence on industrial goods.
The spinning wheel before her is more than a household tool; it represents care, resilience, and quiet resistance. Through wool and thread, Heera Devi Yami became part of an unseen network of support that sustained people during difficult times.
Many senior underground activists who are still alive today recall the kindness of Heera Devi Yami during those difficult years. They remember that while they were in jail, she would give them small woolen covers that she had carefully stitched herself. Those who received her handmade woolen blankets still remember. In moments of hardship, such warmth is never forgotten.
Elderly women in the community now tell the children of Heera Devi Yami that when they gave birth, she would send cholo (traditional clothing) and a bhoto as a blessing. They recall how she would often stay up all night stitching these items by hand.
These stories come not from strangers, but from neighbors, relatives, and friends—people who personally witnessed her generosity and compassion and are only now beginning to speak about it.
This photograph stands as a tribute to a woman whose contribution to her family, her community, and to a period of struggle was carried out with humility, dedication, and remarkable skill — one thread at a time.