Habaspuri sari, cotton saree from India: what it is and how it is worn

A cotton and silk handloom saree from Kalahandi district in Odisha, named for the village of Habaspur, where the Kandha tribe first wove the cloth in the nineteenth century. Bhulia weavers of Chicheguda carry the craft on today, pairing tie-dye with motifs of temples, fish, flowers and turtles.

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Named for Habaspur village in Kalahandi, Odisha, where the Kandha tribe wove it in the 1800s
Weaver Ugrasen Meher brought the craft back in Chicheguda after tribal weavers gave it up
Motifs include kumbha (temple), fish, flowers, turtles and local tribal wall art
GI-tagged and counted among 14 Odisha crafts with the status
Output and weaver numbers fell in 2018-19 as the slow work paid poorly

What is Habaspuri sari?

Habaspuri is a handwoven cloth from Kalahandi district in Odisha, and the saree is its main product. The base is cotton, with silk also used. What marks the cloth out is its tie-dye work and its patterns, which borrow from temple shapes, fish, flowers, turtles and the wall painting found in tribal homes of the region. The weavers are Bhulias of Chicheguda, a village that has become the centre of the craft. Work on the loom is slow and demanding, and the cloth carries a Geographical Indication tag tying it to its home.

Where does Habaspuri sari come from?

The name points to Habaspur, a village in Kalahandi, where weavers of the Kandha tribe made this cloth during the nineteenth century. When the local dynasty lost power, the tribal weavers gave up making these sarees, and the craft nearly disappeared. A weaver named Ugrasen Meher brought it back to life in Chicheguda, another Kalahandi village, where Bhulia families are credited as the original makers of the fabric. Harder times came again: in 2018-19 output and weaver numbers both fell because the slow work paid poorly. Sujit Meher, a fashion designer born in Chicheguda, then stepped in to revive his home craft.

How is Habaspuri sari made?

The cloth is woven on handlooms, mostly in cotton, with silk as a second fibre. Its signature is tie-dye, a way of colouring cloth in which sections that are tied up keep the dye out, so the pattern appears where colour cannot reach. Official figures show output and weaver numbers both fell in 2018-19, because the slow, heavy loom work brought in too little money. Finished saris and other cloth, made by individual weavers and by weaver groups, reach buyers through government-run shops, with marketing handled by the state body that looks after handlooms in Odisha.

Habaspuri sari, drawn

The cloth Field colour, madhubani motif. Drawn from this page, not from one saree.

Draped A sketch of the usual Nivi wrap in this saree's colours.

Bandhani: cloth plucked and tied in thousands of tiny knots, then dyed. The tied dots stay light.

Plain weave: the weft thread goes over one warp thread and under the next, then the reverse on the next row.

Colours, motifs and borders

Cotton forms the body of the cloth, with silk also used. What sets this weave apart within Odisha's textile scene is the pairing of tie-dye with its picture-like motifs: kumbha, a temple form; fish; flowers; turtles; and patterns borrowed from the tribal wall painting of the region. No set palette is recorded, and no particular border or decorated end piece is described, so these details rest with each weaver.

What Habaspuri sari means

Habaspuri holds Geographical Indication status and counts among 14 Odisha crafts with the tag. Its survival is a live worry: figures for 2018-19 showed falling output and fewer weavers, since slow loom work earned too little, and designer Sujit Meher of Chicheguda stepped in to push a revival. Writer-director Biswanath Rath has made the weave the subject of a documentary project, chosen for the NFDC Film Bazaar co-production market in November 2023 as one of 12 picks from 98 entries; the film's poster was released for National Handloom Day 2026.

Questions people ask about Habaspuri sari

Where does the Habaspuri saree come from?

It belongs to Kalahandi district in Odisha. The name comes from the village of Habaspur, where the Kandha tribe wove the cloth in the nineteenth century. Today Bhulia weavers in Chicheguda, a village in the same district, make it.

How is a Habaspuri saree made?

It is woven by hand on handlooms, mainly in cotton, with silk also used. The fabric is known for its tie-dye work. The job is slow and demanding, and low earnings pushed many weavers away from the loom.

What do the motifs on Habaspuri cloth show?

The patterns include kumbha, a temple form, along with fish, flowers and turtles, and designs drawn from the tribal wall painting of the Kalahandi region.

Is Habaspuri a protected craft?

Yes. Its distinct weaving, design and production earned it Geographical Indication status, and it counts among 14 Odisha crafts carrying the tag. The recognition ties the cloth to its home district.

Is the Habaspuri weave thriving?

Not fully. Official figures for 2018-19 show output and weaver numbers both dropped, because the slow, demanding work paid less than the effort it took. A revival led by designer Sujit Meher of Chicheguda, and a planned documentary, aim to draw attention back to it.

Good reading and sources

Where this page comes from

The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Habaspuri sari", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryPallu rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.

It may contain mistakes. Traditions, weaves and prices differ from one weaver, town or shop to the next, and it is not buying advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.

Habaspuri sari