Cloth that tells you who someone is
Every kos: an old saying holds that the water changes every kos, about three kilometres, and the language every four. Dress changes almost as quickly.
Turbans by place: a herder from the Pali side ties his turban differently from a farmer near Bikaner.
What an odhni says: which community a woman belongs to, whether she is married, and sometimes whether she has a new baby at home.
- Kos
- About three kilometres
- Odhni can show
- Community, marriage, new baby
- Desert colours
- Saffron, magenta, mustard, indigo
- Old savings
- Silver jewellery and cloth
- Read like an accent: nobody needs to explain it. People simply read it.
- Colour against sand: the Thar is sand, thorn and grey-green scrub for most of the year, so people wear saffron, magenta, mustard, emerald and indigo.
- Seen from the next dune: our grandmother used to say that in the desert you dress so your family can find you from the next dune. Half a joke, half true.
- Cloth was wealth: before banks reached the villages, a family's savings were its silver jewellery and its cloth: wedding odhnis, embroidered skirts, quilts.
- Royal storehouses: courts kept their own, and the palace museums of Jaipur and Jodhpur still show robes, tent hangings and court costumes from them.
- Given at every turn: cloth was given at births, weddings and deaths, and it still is.
- On this page: what you are seeing, what you might wear yourself, and how to buy cloth that is genuinely handmade.
What men wear: the safa, the angarkha and the bandhgala
- Safa
- Looser, broader turban with tail
- Pagri
- Longer cloth, tightly wound
- Angarkha
- Wrap tunic tied with strings
- Bandhgala
- Closed-neck Jodhpuri coat
- Mojari
- Embroidered leather slipper
The safa and the pagri
One long cloth: the turban is a single length wound around the head, and people argue happily about the two names.
Safa: in common speech, the looser, broader turban, often with a tail hanging down the back.
- Pagri: the longer, narrower cloth wound tightly into a firm shape.
- Regional styles: the pagri of Mewar, around Udaipur, is famous for its neat, compact folds. The Jodhpuri safa is known for bold colours and a long tail.
- Honour: to exchange turbans with someone is to make him a brother. To place your turban at another man's feet is the deepest form of appeal.
- A compliment, not a costume: visitors are often offered a safa at weddings and festivals, and wearing one honours the hosts.
- Learn to tie one: our turban-tying session shows how a few metres become a safa in under two minutes, and our journal on the turbans of Rajasthan goes deeper.
The angarkha and the kurta
The angarkha: an old court tunic that wraps across the chest and ties at the side with cloth strings instead of buttons.
Where you'll see it: in many Rajput miniature paintings, and still on musicians, at weddings and on the staff of some heritage hotels.
- Everyday wear: most men wear a simple kurta, a long loose shirt, usually white or pale for the heat.
- The village outfit: a white kurta or short jacket, a white dhoti wrapped around the legs, and a bright turban.
- Made for the desert: white reflects the sun, loose cotton lets air move, and the turban shades the head and unwinds to cover the face in a dust storm.
Jodhpurs and the bandhgala
From Jodhpur to the world: two garments the world now wears came from here.
Jodhpurs: riding breeches cut close at the calf and loose at the thigh, named after the polo-playing Rathore nobles of Jodhpur made them famous in Britain in the late nineteenth century.
- The bandhgala: a closed-neck coat with a short stand-up collar, the formal coat of the princely families, often called the Jodhpuri suit.
- Evening dress: a well-cut bandhgala with fitted trousers and polished shoes is still correct at a palace wedding or a polo dinner in Jaipur.
- Have one made: several tailors in Jaipur and Jodhpur will make one in a few days. We arrange a fitting early in your stay, so there is time for a second before you leave.
Mojari, the embroidered slipper
What it is: the mojari, or jutti, is a flat leather slipper with a closed toe, often embroidered in coloured thread or gold, sometimes with a curled tip.
- The best: made by hand in Jodhpur and Jaipur.
- Fit: new mojaris are stiff and tight, and soften to the foot after a week. Buy them a little snug rather than loose.
- What to look for: our journal on mojari shoes explains the stitching and the sole.
What women wear: the ghagra, the odhni and the poshak
- Ghagra
- Long, full drawstring skirt
- Kanchli
- Fitted bodice, or choli
- Odhni
- Two to three metre scarf
- Peela
- Yellow odhni for new mothers
- Poshak
- Rajput women's formal set
The ghagra
The skirt: long and full, gathered at the waist with a drawstring.
- Many metres: village ghagras may use so much cloth that they swing as the wearer walks and spread into a circle when she dances.
- Everyday and festive: everyday ones are printed cotton. Festival and wedding ghagras are heavier, with embroidery, mirror work or gold ribbon borders.
- A signature: the print and border often tell you the community and region of the woman wearing it.
The kanchli, the kurti and the blouse
The bodice: above the ghagra, women traditionally wear a fitted kanchli or choli.
- Rajput households: often add a kurti, a short sleeveless top worn over it.
- In towns: many women now wear a simple blouse instead.
- Read at a glance: the fit of the bodice and the cut of the sleeves vary between communities, and older village women can usually tell where a stranger comes from.
The odhni
The long scarf: two to three metres, tucked into the ghagra, carried over the shoulder and drawn over the head.
The most meaningful piece: it shades her from the sun and covers her head before elders and in temples.
- Ghunghat: in many communities it is drawn down as a veil in front of older men of her husband's family.
- Red: for brides and newly married women.
- Peela: in parts of the Jaipur and Shekhawati region, a new mother is traditionally given a yellow odhni, often with a red centre and border, by her own family.
- Mourning and change: a widow in a traditional family may wear dark or muted colours. Customs vary, and many younger city women follow them only on special days.
The Rajputi poshak
A matching set: ghagra, kurti, kanchli and odhni, often in fine georgette or chiffon with heavy gold border work.
- Where you'll see it: at a royal wedding, at Gangaur in the palaces and in the portraits that line heritage hotel corridors.
- Heirlooms: a good poshak is made to measure, and families keep their finest for generations.
The sari
Common in the cities: worn across India, and now as common as the ghagra in Rajasthan's towns.
- Local style: the end, the pallu, is usually brought over the right shoulder or the head.
- Regional favourites: leheriya and bandhani saris.
- Try one: our journal on how to wear a sari is a gentle start, and a hotel housekeeper or one of our team will happily help with the pleats.
Leheriya, mothda and bandhani: the tie-dyes of Rajasthan
- Leheriya
- Diagonal waves, from lehar
- Mothda
- Tiny checks, moth-bean size
- Bandhani
- Hand-tied dots, also bandhej
- Leheriya season
- Teej, July or August
- Bridal bandhani
- Red and maroon
Leheriya, the waves
The name: from lehar, a wave.
How it's made: the dyer rolls fine cotton or chiffon diagonally from corner to corner, ties it tightly at intervals and dips it in dye. Unrolled, it shows diagonal ripples.
- Many colours: by untying, re-rolling and dyeing again, a skilled dyer builds up several colours, each lighter than the next.
- A monsoon cloth: before Teej, in July or August, Jaipur's bazaars fill with green, pink and yellow leheriya, and women buy new saris for the festival.
- Made for humidity: lightweight and quick-drying.
- See it made: our page on leheriya and bandhani explains a morning with a dyeing family, and our journal on leheriya explained tells its story.
Mothda, the small check
Leheriya, one step further: rolled and tied in one diagonal, dyed, then rolled and tied in the other.
- The name: where undyed bands cross they leave tiny squares, said to be the size of a moth bean.
- A connoisseur's cloth: harder to make well, and a fine mothda turban is something a Jaipur gentleman notices on another man at once.
Bandhani, the knots
How it's made: bandhani, or bandhej, means pinching up tiny points of cloth and binding each one tightly with thread before dyeing.
The patterns: the bound points stay undyed as small dots, arranged into waves, squares, flowers, dancers and even elephants.
- Thousands of knots: a single wedding odhni can carry thousands, each tied by hand, usually by women working at home.
- Where: Jodhpur, Jaipur, Bikaner and the Shekhawati towns, with Kutch in Gujarat next door keeping its own famous tradition.
- Bridal cloth: red and maroon bandhani with white and yellow dots. The chunri pattern, a dense field of small dots, is common on festival odhnis.
- Open it yourself: fresh bandhani often keeps tiny raised peaks where the knots were tied, and some shops sell it with the threads still in place.
Block printing: Sanganer, Bagru, Akola and Barmer
The carver: he cuts the design into seasoned hardwood with fine chisels, one block for each colour.
The printer: dips the block in a tray of dye, places it on stretched cloth and strikes the back with his fist, lining up each impression by eye.
- Printers
- The Chhipa community
- GI status
- Sanganeri, Bagru, Kota Doria
- Bagru
- About an hour from Jaipur
- Dabu
- Clay and gum resist paste
- Ajrakh
- Printed both sides, many stages
- Colour by colour: a second printer follows with the next colour. Watch a master and you see how much skill sits behind the speed.
- The Chhipa: Rajasthan's printing community, and many families have printed for generations.
- Protected names: Sanganeri hand block print, Bagru hand block print and Kota Doria all have Geographical Indication status.
- Go further: our page on block printing in Bagru explains a morning with a printing family, and our block print buying guide tells you what to look for.
Sanganer, florals on white
Where: the southern edge of Jaipur, near the airport.
- The style: fine, delicate floral sprays and small motifs on a white or pale ground. Much of the bed linen and many scarves in Jaipur's better shops are printed here.
- Also known for: handmade paper.
- The best introduction: the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing at Amer, before or after a visit.
Bagru, earth and indigo
Where: a small town about an hour from Jaipur on the Ajmer road.
- The style: earthier than Sanganer, with black, rust red and indigo on a ground often first washed a soft cream.
- Dabu: a resist paste of clay, gum and other natural ingredients, printed on to protect areas from the dye.
- The crackle: after indigo dyeing, the dried mud is washed away, leaving a crackled, slightly irregular pattern no machine reproduces well.
Akola, dabu in Mewar
Where: near Chittorgarh, the Mewar centre of dabu printing.
- The style: heavier cloth and deeper colours, often dark indigo and rich green, much of it for local women's skirts and quilt covers.
- Pair it: a quiet village, and an hour there goes well with a day at Chittorgarh fort.
Barmer and Balotra, ajrakh
Ajrakh: around Barmer, a resist-dyed cloth printed on both sides in many stages, in deep indigo, madder red and black, with dense geometric patterns.
- Desert use: herders and farmers have long used it as turbans, shoulder cloths and sheets.
- Across the border: the same craft thrives in Kutch, where Ajrakhpur is its best-known centre.
Woven and embroidered: Kota Doria, gota and mirror work
- Kota Doria
- Cotton and silk, khat checks
- Gota patti
- Metallic ribbon appliqué
- Shisha
- Embroidered mirrors
- Pattu
- Desert woollen shawls
- Namda
- Felted rugs from Tonk
- Razai
- Light Jaipur cotton quilt
Kota Doria
The cloth: a very fine handloom fabric of cotton and silk, with small square checks called khat, formed by grouping cotton and silk threads in warp and weft.
- Where: woven mainly in Kaithoon and the villages near Kota.
- Prized for summer: saris so light they suit the hottest months. Good Kota Doria often has a woven border with gold thread.
- Visit the weavers: we arrange it in Kaithoon as part of a day in Hadoti.
Gota patti
Gota: ribbon woven with gold or silver coloured metallic thread.
- Gota patti: the craft of cutting it into leaves, flowers and borders and stitching them onto cloth. It is the shine on most festive odhnis and poshaks.
- Centres: Jaipur and Ajmer.
- Then and now: real silver gota was once common in royal households. Today almost all of it uses coloured metallic thread, lighter and cheaper but still beautiful.
Mirror work and appliqué
Shisha: in the Barmer and Jaisalmer region, women embroider small round mirrors into skirts, bodices, bags and wall hangings, with dense red, orange and green stitching.
- Appliqué: cut shapes of cloth sewn onto a background, for large canopies, quilts and wedding hangings.
- Buy from the makers: much of this work is done by women at home, and buying from a women's cooperative puts more of the price in their hands.
Woollens, felts and quilts
Pattu: around Jaisalmer and Barmer, weavers make woollen shawls and blankets with woven geometric borders.
- Namda: Tonk is known for these felted wool rugs with embroidered designs.
- Razai: Jaipur's light cotton quilts, filled with hand-carded cotton and covered in block-printed cloth.
- Why guests take one home: a Jaipur razai weighs almost nothing and keeps you warm on a desert night.
Zardozi and court embroidery
What it is: embroidery in gold and silver coloured thread with sequins and beads.
- Its history: it came to Rajasthan's courts through the Mughal connection, and is still worked in Jaipur and in Agra next door.
- Used for: bridal wear, formal coats and the trappings of festival processions.
- In the museums: old examples worked in real metal thread, now darkened with age.
A calendar written in colour
Teej: in the monsoon, the colour is green leheriya, the green of new grass after the rain.
Gangaur: in spring, women wear their finest leheriya and bandhani, carry clay images of the goddess Gauri and walk to the wells and lakes singing.
Holi: people wear old white clothes they expect to ruin with colour.
- January
- Woollens and shawls for kites
- March
- Old whites, then new leheriya
- July and August
- Green leheriya, new bangles
- October and November
- Silk and gota for Diwali
- Wedding season
- Mostly November to February
- Makar Sankranti: in January the rooftops fill with families in bright winter woollens.
- Diwali: everyone wears something new, often silk or with gold border work.
- Weddings: brides traditionally wear red, and the women of the family red, pink, orange and gold.
- Matching safas: at grand weddings all the men of one family may wear the same turban, so everyone can tell the bride's side from the groom's.
- Kesariya: saffron is the colour of the Rajput warrior's courage, seen on turbans at weddings and celebrations.
- Mourning: quieter. In many families men wear a white or pale turban, and women wear muted colours.
Reading dress on the road
You do not need to become an expert, but a few patterns are easy to learn. These are broad tendencies, not rules. People mix and change their dress like people everywhere, and younger men often wear shirts and trousers, with a turban only for special days.
Raika and Rabari: the camel and sheep herders of the west are often seen in bright red or white turbans and white clothes.
- Rabari women at Jawai: dark woollen odhnis and heavy silver and ivory-coloured bangles.
- The Bishnoi: famous for protecting blackbuck and khejri trees, they usually dress in white, and the men wear white turbans. Our page on the Bishnoi villages of Marwar explains how we visit.
- Kalbelia women: they dance in black skirts embroidered with silver thread and mirrors, which swirl into circles when they spin.
- Shekhawati villages: women wear bright orange, red and yellow odhnis, and in February they stand out against the yellow mustard fields.
- Mewar: compact, tightly wound pagris on older men, and on the musicians and staff of Udaipur's palaces.
- City gentlemen: older Rajputs often wear a bandhgala and a safa for any formal event, and the safa's pattern, leheriya, mothda or bandhani, tells the season and occasion.
What you should pack and wear
Modesty makes it easier: Rajasthan is welcoming, but traditional, and modest clothes ease temples, villages, bazaars and meetings with families.
More comfortable too: loose, light clothing is simply better in the sun.
No costume needed: but many guests enjoy buying a kurta or a scarf early and wearing it all journey. Our full packing guide and etiquette guide cover more.
- Cover
- Shoulders and knees
- Carry
- A large cotton scarf
- Shoes
- Easy to slip off
- November to February
- Layers for cold nights
- April to September
- Cotton and linen
- Jain temples
- No leather at all
- Cover shoulders and knees: for temples, mosques, dargahs and villages. Long skirts, loose trousers and kurtas for women, trousers and sleeved shirts for men.
- A large cotton scarf: it covers your head in a dargah or gurdwara, your shoulders in a temple, and your face from dust on a jeep safari.
- Slip-off shoes: you will remove them many times a day at temples, ghats and some homes.
- Winter layers: from November to February, mornings and desert nights are cold, close to freezing in the dunes. A pashmina or a Jaipur razai jacket earns its place.
- Natural fibres in the heat: from April to September, cotton and linen breathe. Synthetics are miserable in the heat and humidity.
- At the hotel: keep shorts and sleeveless tops for the pool and garden. Smart casual is the evening norm, and a bandhgala or a dress with a shawl suits a special dinner.
- Leather on temple days: Jain temples such as Ranakpur ask you to leave all leather outside, including belts and watch straps. See our temple etiquette guide.
- Wedding guests: ask us before you shop. Bright colours are welcome, plain white or black alone can feel wrong, and red is usually best left to the bride.
Buying well: how to tell the real thing
Slow work costs more: handmade textiles cost more than machine-made copies for good reason, and the bazaars sell both side by side.
Ask: a shopkeeper may not tell you which is which unless you do.
No commission showrooms: our guides know which family workshops and established shops sell honestly. See our shopping guide and textile shopping in Rajasthan.
- First check
- Turn the cloth over
- Block print
- Small irregular joins
- Real bandhani
- Uneven dots, raised peaks
- Natural dyes
- Softer tones, gentle fading
- First washes
- Separately, in cold water
- Block prints: small, irregular joins where one impression meets the next. A perfectly even repeat across a whole sari suggests a screen or machine.
- The back of the cloth: on block-printed cotton the colour usually soaks through. A crisp front with a pale, blank back often means screen printing.
- Bandhani: real dots are slightly uneven, and new pieces often keep tiny peaks where each knot was tied. Printed dots lie perfectly flat and regular.
- Leheriya: good stripes run cleanly through the whole cloth, with soft, slightly blurred edges where dye met binding.
- Natural dyes: softer, deeper tones that fade gently. Ask the seller, and expect an honest answer from a genuine maker.
- Kota Doria: handloom has slight irregularity in the checks and a crisp, airy feel. Imitations are often heavier and more even.
- Washing: wash new tie-dye and indigo separately in cold water the first few times, because the colour may run.
- Street friends: never buy from a shop a stranger leads you to, however friendly. Go with your own guide, or to an established shop you chose yourself.
Where we take textile lovers
- A reason to travel: textiles are woven into almost every journey we plan, and can be the reason for one.
- Built for it: our textile and craft trail is built around workshops, museums and makers, with time to commission and collect.
Jaipur and its printing towns
The natural centre: a morning with a printing family in Bagru or Sanganer, an hour at the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing in Amer, and an evening in the old city's cloth markets.
- Sorted by trade: the bazaars of Jaipur, where our guides know the lanes where the dyers and gota workers still sit.
- Allow time: for a tailor if you want a bandhgala or a kurta made.
Jodhpur, for bandhani and mojari
- Around the Clock Tower: the old city is known for bandhani, safas and mojaris.
- Mehrangarh's museum: some of the finest court textiles and tent hangings in the state, the ancestors of the bazaar's cloth.
Kota and Kaithoon, for Kota Doria
- At the looms: Kaithoon, near Kota, is where the Kota Doria weavers work.
- Pair it: with the painted palace of Bundi, which has its own fine murals of court dress.
Barmer and the western desert
- The source: for ajrakh, mirror work and appliqué, the villages around Barmer.
- Off the circuit: a long way from the usual route, so we suggest it on a slower desert journey from Jaisalmer.
Kutch, across the border
- One of India's richest textile cultures: ajrakh at Ajrakhpur, bandhani, rogan painting at Nirona, and embroidery that differs by community.
- Combine it: with western Rajasthan on our Rajasthan and Kutch journey.