Uppada Jamdani sari, silk saree from India: what it is and how it is worn

Uppada Jamdani sari is a light silk sari woven in Uppada, a village in Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Weavers there took up the jamdani technique of Bengal, which reached the south in the 18th century, and wove it by hand into a cloth whose floral and geometric motifs show on both faces.

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Woven in Uppada, a village in Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh
Holds a geographical indication from Andhra Pradesh
In Persian, jam means flower and dani means vase
One sari takes a week to a fortnight, or up to sixty days
About three thousand looms work around Uppada and Kothapalli

What is Uppada Jamdani sari?

Uppada Jamdani sari is a handwoven silk sari from Uppada, a village in Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh. It carries a geographical indication from the state. The cloth is fine and light, and weavers say a finished sari can be folded small enough to fit in a matchbox. Its motifs, flowers, leaves and geometric shapes, show on both faces of the fabric. The body is often cotton, with a silk pallu. Roughly two in five of the weavers around Uppada are women. It is lighter than the Kanchipuram and Dharmavaram saris it is often set beside.

Where does Uppada Jamdani sari come from?

Jamdani weaving belongs first to Bengal, in what is now Bangladesh, and the technique is described as around 300 years old. It travelled south in the 18th century and was taken up in Uppada, where weavers reworked it in a way that suited local taste. The word jamdani comes from Persian, jam for flower and dani for vase. In 1972 the government of India gave Uppada's weavers the President's award, a mark of recognition for the craft.

How is Uppada Jamdani sari made?

An Uppada Jamdani sari is woven entirely by hand. Weavers use fine silk from the Bengaluru area, and silver zari that is often dipped in melted gold. Work starts with laying out the design; the silk threads are then interwoven and the loom set. Two or three weavers may spend ten hours a day on one sari, and a piece can take ten days to sixty. A single sari usually takes a week to a fortnight. Around three thousand looms work in and around Uppada and Kothapalli.

Uppada Jamdani sari, drawn

The cloth Field colour, lotus motif, pallu: silk pallu on a cotton body. Drawn from this page, not from one saree.

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

Jamdani: motifs woven into the cloth by hand, thread by thread, on a fine ground of cotton.

Satin weave: the warp floats over four wefts before it is caught, which gives silk its smooth, bright face.

Colours, motifs and borders

Jamdani work here is fine enough that the motifs read on both faces of the cloth. Weavers draw on flowers, leaves and geometric figures. The body is usually cotton and the pallu silk. Weight is part of the design itself, since an Uppada sari is lighter than a Kanchipuram or Dharmavaram one, and fine enough that a folded sari is said to fit inside a matchbox.

Styles of Uppada Jamdani sari

Besides saris, the same Uppada cloth is used for gowns and scarves. Weavers set their work alongside the Kanchipuram and Dharmavaram saris of the south, which are heavier; the lightness of an Uppada sari is its point of difference. The jamdani method is shared, too, with weavers in Bengal and Bangladesh, where the style first took shape, and each place has made it its own.

What Uppada Jamdani sari means

The sari holds a geographical indication from Andhra Pradesh, which recognises that it belongs to this place. In 1972 the President's award went to Uppada's weavers for the craft. Weaving sustains a large share of the village economy: around three thousand looms stand in the Uppada and Kothapalli area, and about forty percent of the weavers are women. For the families who work those looms, this light sari is both an inheritance and a living.

Questions people ask about Uppada Jamdani sari

Where does the Uppada Jamdani sari come from?

It is woven in Uppada, a village in Kakinada district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The jamdani style itself began in Bengal, in what is now Bangladesh, and came to the south in the 18th century, where Uppada's weavers reworked it in their own way.

How is it made?

It is woven completely by hand on looms around Uppada and Kothapalli. Weavers use fine silk from the Bengaluru area and silver zari, often dipped in melted gold. Two or three weavers may put in ten hours a day, and one sari can take ten to sixty days.

Why is it called jamdani?

The word comes from Persian, where jam means flower and dani means vase. It names the floral work that jamdani weavers set into the cloth, and the same word is used for the technique in Bengal and Bangladesh.

What sets it apart from other south Indian saris?

Weight, mainly. The cloth is fine enough that a folded sari is said to fit in a matchbox, and the motifs appear on both sides. Weavers compare it with the heavier Kanchipuram and Dharmavaram saris, and about forty percent of the local weavers are women.

Does the sari have any official recognition?

Yes. It is registered as a geographical indication from Andhra Pradesh, and in 1972 the government of India gave Uppada's weavers the President's award. Around three thousand looms are at work in and around Uppada and Kothapalli.

Good reading and sources

Where this page comes from

The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Uppada Jamdani 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.

Uppada Jamdani sari