Regional drapes
The Assamese mekhela chador
Assam's two-piece dress: a wraparound skirt, the mekhela, and a long cloth, the chador, with a blouse.
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The mekhela chador is the traditional dress of Assamese women. The mekhela is a tube-like skirt, folded into pleats at the waist. The chador is a long cloth tucked into the mekhela and carried over the shoulder. It is worn with a blouse, and it is closely linked with Bihu, with the muga silk of the Brahmaputra valley, and with the weavers of Sualkuchi.
Wrapped step by step
Each drawing shows the cloth so far, with the newest step outlined in gold. The figure is a front view; the wearer's left is on your right.
Step 1 Step into the mekhela, a tube skirt, and pull it up to the waist. Step 2 Fold the extra width at the front into pleats, with the folds laid to one side. Step 3 Tuck the pleats into the waist, and tie the cord. Step 4 Tuck the plain end of the chador into the waist at the front. Step 5 Carry the chador across the chest and over the left shoulder. Step 6 Pin it at the shoulder and arrange the border so that it shows. Step 7 Let the end of the chador fall, and match its border to that of the mekhela. Finished The Assamese mekhela chador, seen from the front.
Where it comes from
Assam is the home of muga, a golden silk made by a local silkworm, and of eri, a soft silk spun rather than reeled. Weaving was a household task, and every home had a loom. The two-piece dress developed in this setting, with the lower piece and the upper cloth woven separately and matching in border and colour. Sualkuchi is the best known silk weaving town.
How it looks
The mekhela is a wide cloth sewn into a tube, with a cord, and the extra width is folded into pleats on one side and tucked in. The chador is wrapped and tucked at the waist, and the free end is taken across the chest and over the shoulder. The borders of both pieces are meant to match.
Who wears it and when
It is worn daily by many women, at Bohag Bihu, in red and white or in muga gold, and at weddings. Brides wear a muga or pat silk set, often with a thin under cloth called riha. In recent times the mekhela chador has also been worn at offices, in college and for national events.
Sarees worn this way
Also part of it, and being written: Muga silk (The golden silk of Assam, used for the best sets.), Sualkuchi (The silk weaving town on the Brahmaputra.), Mekhela chador (The dress itself.).
More on EveryPallu
Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryPallu desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The drawings are simplified diagrams of the order of wrapping, not a lesson: how a drape is worn differs from family to family. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Eri silk: Simtastic01, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Assam silk: Hiranmoy Boruah, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mekhela chador: Deepraj, CC BY 2.5, source