Live, Sunday, 15 November 2026
Wearing today
What is being worn right now: the festivals and days under way, what is coming next, the news, and one saree to get to know.
Being worn today
Chhath Puja
Chhath is a four day festival of Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern Uttar Pradesh and the Nepal Terai, in which the Sun and Chhathi Maiya are worshipped. It begins on the fourth day of the bright half of Kartika, about five days after Diwali, with a bath and meal, and ends on the seventh with an offering to the rising sun. The women who keep the fast, called vratis, wear a new, clean saree, often cotton or silk in yellow, orange or red, and apply sindoor from the nose along the parting. They stand in river or pond water at dusk and dawn with baskets of fruit and thekua, a sweet wheat biscuit. Men commonly wear a plain washed dhoti or other clean cloth. The dates shown run from the first to the last day.
Wangala (Hundred Drums Festival)
Wangala is the post harvest festival of the Garo people of Meghalaya, held in November in honour of Misi Saljong, the sun god of fertility. The famous celebration is the Hundred Drums Wangala at Asanang in the Garo Hills, where drummers beat large oval drums and dancers move in lines. Men wear feather headdresses, and women dress in the dakmanda, a wrapped lower cloth woven with bands of colour, with a blouse and ornaments of beads and brass. The dakmanda is tied at the waist and falls to the ankle. The date moves a little from year to year, in the second week of November.
Also part of it, and being written: Dakmanda (The Garo wrapped cloth, woven with coloured bands.).
Winter, the silk and wedding season
From about mid November to the end of February the north of India is cold and the south is mild, and it is the season for silk. Heavy Banarasi brocade, Kanchipuram, Paithani and tussar are worn without discomfort, often with a shawl, and the season is also a main run of weddings, with the dates set by the almanac, so silk shops, weaving clusters and craft fairs are busiest. Winter is also when many handloom fairs are held, among them the Surajkund Mela in February. In the north, wool and pashmina shawls are draped over the saree. The dates are a rough guide.
Saree of the day
Coming up in the next six weeks
In 5 days, about 20 Nov 2026Dev Uthani Ekadashi, the start of the wedding seasonOn Dev Uthani Ekadashi Vishnu wakes, the months without weddings end, and the trousseau season of north India begins.
In 8 days, about 23 Nov 2026Karthigai DeepamThe festival of lamps of Tamil Nadu, kept when the star Krittika meets the full moon, with rows of clay lamps at every door.
In 9 days, about 24 Nov 2026Tazaungdaing, the festival of lights and weavingOn the full moon of Tazaungmone Myanmar lights lanterns, and teams of women weave monastic robes in a single night.
In 16 days, 1 to 10 Dec 2026Hornbill FestivalNagaland's tribes meet in Kohima for ten days of dance and song, each in its own shawl, skirt and beads.
In 30 days, about 15 Dec to 14 Jan 2027Margazhi and the Chennai music seasonThe Tamil month from mid December to mid January, when Chennai holds its Carnatic music and dance season and silk sarees fill the halls.
In 31 days, about 16 Dec to 14 Jan 2027Kharmas, the month without weddingsFrom mid December to mid January, when the sun is in Sagittarius, many Hindu families hold no weddings, and saree shops turn to winter and trousseau stock.
In 31 days, 16 Dec 2026Victory Day of BangladeshOn 16 December Bangladesh keeps its Victory Day, with sarees, flags and scarves in red and green.
In 32 days, 17 Dec 2026National Day of BhutanOn 17 December Bhutanese women wear the kira, a wrapped dress pinned at the shoulders, with a rachu scarf and a jacket.
In 38 days, about 23 to 25 Dec 2026Poush Mela, SantiniketanA winter fair at Santiniketan where Bengal sells kantha sarees, batik and block prints beside Baul songs.
In 40 days, 25 Dec 2026Christmas in Kerala and GoaChurch-going women in Kerala and Goa wear sarees and traditional dress, with the kasavu and the chatta and mundu in Kerala.Textile news
- Gujarat: Centre looks to expand global market access for Kutch artisans and traditional craftsThe Hans India, Weavers
- Swadesh collaborates with Mayyur Girotra to celebrate India's rich textile traditionsIndulgExpress, Exhibitions
- The Grand Handloom Fair 2026 (Nov 14–23): Insider Guide to Free Entry, Weaves & Survival Tipstheoptimist.news, Weaves
- Protecting intellectual property in Bangladesh with a special focus on JamdaniThe Business Standard, Bangladesh
- Karigar Bazaar JLN Stadium 2026: Dates, Free Entry & Guidetheoptimist.news, Heritage
- How Aikyatha is Connecting Kanchipuram Silk Weavers With a New Generation Of Saree BuyersLocal Samosa, Handloom
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Tussar silk: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, source
- Banarasi sari: Ekabhishek, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pedana Kalamkari: Sathishkagitha, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sari: Suyash.dwivedi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Karthigai Deepam: SriniG, Public domain, source
- Christmas Kerala Goa: LLs, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Poush Mela Santiniketan: Anindya Mondal 2001, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hornbill Festival: Vikramjit Kakati, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dev Uthani Wedding Season: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Victory Day Bangladesh: Jubair1985, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tazaungdaing Myanmar: Christian Heimig, CC BY 4.0, source