Regional drapes
The Odia drape
The Odisha way of wearing a saree, with the pallu over the left shoulder and a border that is meant to show.
Presented by ClearTrust Free for wearers, makers and the curious.
Women in Odisha wear the saree in a Nivi-like drape, with the pallu over the left shoulder, in the local cottons and silks. The cloth matters more than the method: ikat sarees from Sambalpur and Berhampur, and the Khandua silk that is tied to the Jagannath temple at Puri.
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 Tuck the plain end into the petticoat at the right hip. Step 2 Wrap the cloth round the waist once. Step 3 Gather the front into pleats. Step 4 Tuck the pleats in at the navel. Step 5 Bring the pallu over the left shoulder. Step 6 Arrange the border so that it shows along the hem and the edge. Step 7 For a rite, draw the end of the pallu over the head. Finished The Odia drape, seen from the front.
Where it comes from
Odisha has a long ikat tradition, in which the threads are dyed in patterns before weaving. Western Odisha is known for Sambalpuri ikat, and the southern coast around Berhampur for silk with temple borders. Odia women wear these in a drape that is close to the Bengali and the Nivi, with local habits such as drawing the pallu over the head for rites.
How it looks
The saree is wrapped round the waist, pleated at the front, and tucked in. The pallu is carried to the left shoulder, with the border arranged to show. A Sambalpuri saree has an ikat body and a pallu woven with motifs such as the shankha, the conch, and the chakra, the wheel. For daily wear a plain cotton is draped more loosely.
Who wears it and when
Sambalpuri and Bomkai sarees are worn at weddings and at festivals such as Raja Parba, Nuakhai and Rath Yatra. Khandua pata is closely tied to the Jagannath temple, and is used in Odia weddings in some families. The same sarees, in white and red, are used for rites in the temple.
Sarees worn this way
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.
- Sambalpuri saree: Rahul191313, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bomkai sari: Nayansatya, CC BY 3.0, source