Pasapali sari
An Odisha ikat sari whose checks are named after a chessboard gambling game
A handloom sari from Bargarh district in Odisha, India, woven in bandha, the local form of ikat, where yarn is tied and dyed before it reaches the loom. Its close-set checks of contrasting colour are compared to a chess board, and the name Pasapali comes from pasā, the gambling games played on one.
- A bandha, or ikat, handloom sari from Odisha
- Woven mainly in Bargarh district
- Also known as Saktapar
- Name comes from pasā, gambling games played on a chess board
- Its contrasting checks are said to look like a chess board
What is Pasapali sari?
Pasapali is a handloom sari from Odisha in eastern India, and it sits inside the bandha tradition, Odisha's word for ikat. In ikat, parts of the yarn are tied off before dyeing so the dye cannot reach them; the pattern then appears as the cloth is woven rather than being printed on afterwards. Weavers make it mainly in Bargarh district, and there the sari also carries the name Saktapar. What you notice is the grid: many small squares in contrasting colours, packed close, so the cloth reads as a field of checks. The source calls these checks intricate.
Where does Pasapali sari come from?
The source gives no founding date or founding centre, so the sari's early history is not recorded here. What it does explain is the name. Pasapali comes from pasā, the term for gambling games played on a chess board, and the link is visual: the squares of the sari are said to look like the board those games were played on. That makes Pasapali a descriptive name for a pattern rather than the name of a village or a loom. Geographically the cloth is placed in Bargarh district, Odisha. Saktapar is the alternative name recorded for the same sari.
How is Pasapali sari made?
Pasapali is a handloom product, which means it comes off a loom worked by hand rather than a power loom. The patterning is bandha, Odisha's ikat, and ikat works from the yarn up: thread is bound in places before it goes into the dye, so the bound sections keep their earlier colour while the rest takes the dye. When the dyed yarn is finally woven, those reserved spots meet and form the design. That is how the checks are built, square by square, in the cloth. The source does not set out the loom type, the dyes used, or how long one sari takes.
Pasapali sari, drawn
Colours, motifs and borders
The design is a grid. Small squares of contrasting colour are set beside each other across the body of the sari, worked closely enough for the source to call the checks intricate. Because the pattern is made by dyeing yarn before weaving, the squares belong to the cloth rather than sitting on top of it. The comparison the source draws is to a chess board, and that likeness is where the sari's name comes from. No specific colour pairings, border treatment or pallu design are described in the material available.
Styles of Pasapali sari
The name Pasapali describes a pattern, not a village or a loom, so the checks themselves are the constant element. The material available does not list separate regional styles or modern versions of this sari. Reference titles attached to the article point to neighbouring Odisha weaving work, including the Sonepur handloom cluster and Sambalpuri and Sonepuri patta saris. Whether individual pieces are handloom or powerloom is not discussed in the source, and nothing is said about imitations of the check design.
What Pasapali sari means
Pasapali carries its meaning in its name. A cloth named after a gambling board shows how a pattern can be named for what it resembles, by the people who weave it. The sari is filed with Odisha's bandha handloom work, and the reference material attached to it points to handloom clusters in the state, the kind of weaving centre that keeps such skills in circulation. No Geographical Indication or other official recognition is recorded in the material for this sari.
Questions people ask about Pasapali sari
Where does the Pasapali sari come from?
It is woven mainly in Bargarh district, in the state of Odisha, India. The article places the sari there and nowhere else, and it names no single town as the centre of the craft.
How is the Pasapali sari made?
On handlooms, in the bandha technique, Odisha's form of ikat. Yarn is bound before dyeing so the bound parts resist the colour, and the pattern appears when the dyed yarn is woven. The result is a check design built into the cloth.
Why is it called Pasapali?
From pasā, the word for gambling games played on a chess board. The sari's dense squares of contrasting colour are said to look like that board. The name describes the pattern rather than a place or a weaving family.
Does the sari have another name?
Yes. The article records Saktapar as an alternative name for the same sari, used alongside Pasapali. Both names refer to the same handloom cloth from Bargarh district in Odisha.
What does the pattern look like?
It is a grid of small, intricate checks in contrasting colours, spread across the cloth. The comparison the source gives is a chess board, and that likeness is what gave the sari its name.
Good reading and sources
- Pasapali sari on WikipediaEncyclopedia
- More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
- Wikidata recordOpen data
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Pasapali 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 2026-10-21.
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