Chakki tables: ancestral tool with decorative object

The chakki tables are for us, unconditional addicts, strong elements of a bohemian decor that we love. But few people know that these carved low tables were (are) essential in rural India to eat ... Indeed, these old tables were, in their previous life, the lower part of a grain mill! This mill was used to make the flour, the main element of the daily Indian bread (ROTI, Chapati, Naan, Paratha), central in the regime of the Indian subcontinent. 

The technical part arrives ... The table supports in its center two stone wheels one on the other, the first being fixed and the other rotary, with a handle to activate it. First the person puts the grain in the hole in the center of the stone, then turns the wheel using the handle, as in the video below. The flour is ejected on the sides of the wheel and is collected on the table. The flour obtained can be recovered via a small opening on the side of the table. The fineness of the grain can be modified by adjusting the space between the two grinders using a lever.

This mill was also used to prepare flour, but also lenses, oats and cotton seeds (used to nourish cows in villages).

Solder the grain manually is a very physical activity, due to the weight of the wheel. This is a task that generally returns to women in rural areas.

The tables can be made of wood, but also clay, and more recently even metal. We even found mills housed in a tire cut in half! 

Today, wooden tables are separated from their grinding, restored, and used as the decorative elements that we know. Find our selection of old chakki tables on Our e-shop !