Kalga
A plume-shaped motif, close to the paisley, used in Banarasi and other brocades.
Also: kalgi, kalka
A kalgi is a plume or jewelled ornament worn on the front of a turban. In textiles the word kalga, or kalka, names a motif of a curved, plume-like shape, like a paisley with a lifted tip. It is woven in Banarasi brocades, often in zari on a silk ground, and also used in Kashmiri and printed cloth. The shape may be solid or filled with flowers, set in rows, in alternate directions, or set large in the pallu. The Mughal courts favoured plumes of this kind, and the motif came into Banarasi weaving through that influence.