Thread (and needle) play a vital part in our lives for without them we would be going practically naked. The thread (like the spider’s gossamer) made by Archane the Weaver, evoked the jealousy of Palras Athene, the goddess of wisdom, who transformed her into a non-human. It was a reel of thread that helped Theseus, the Greek hero, to circumvent the labyrinth, reach the Minotaur and slay the monster. It was thread again that saved the life of a prince abandoned in a maze by a wicked stepmother. And in Delhi, in the old days, people used to go armed with a reel of thread so as not to get lost in the maze in Adam Khan’s tomb at Mehrauli, which women were banned from visiting.
Years ago, when TV was not there, one remembers hearing the admonishing voice of a woman in a radio advertisement, responding to the cry of a trader, "Cut gaye, cut gaye," (meaning his pocket had been cut) by saying, "It’s not cut but torn. Told you to get it mended with Munimji thread but you didn’t listen." Munimji, whose 48th death anniversary fell on 1 August, was Lala Mool Raj Mehta, founder of "India’s first mercerised sewing threads", which used to vie with DCM thread as compared to "kache dhage" (weak threads) made famous in a Hindi play on relationships. Another radio advertisement that still thrills the senses is the titillating plea of a housewife to her husband to bring a particular ghee ("Ae ji Mohan Ghee lete aiyey. It’s like homemade desi ghee). One doesn’t hear such exciting ads on TV. It’s all visual delight.