Hello dear readers, Happy weekened! Well I am sure you must have read my post on my latest trip to Odisha with my mom and elder sister(also my co-blogger), if you haven’t read it yet than read it HERE. As you all know Odisha is very famous for its handloom and handicraft industry. Pipli in Puri is famous for its applique handicrafts. The day we reached Bhubaneshwar, it was quite late, we didn’t have much time to go for any sightseeing and also we didn’t want to waste our time in the hotel rooms. We decided to explore the nearest market area and spend some time shopping. I am a huge fan of handloom sarees and the moment I reached here I was waiting to buy a couple of handloom sarees of Odisha. We were quite lucky as there was a handloom expo going on in Bhubaneshwar and it had stalls of some major saree shops of Bhubaneshwar. The expo had stalls of not only Odisha handlloom but also Handloom items from all over India. Sharing a picture which was displayed just at the entrance of the expo that showed our country’s map labelled with different kinds of handwoven fabrics that are specifically manufactured in various states of India.
The handloom and handicraft industry in India is famous for its uniqueness, styles, authenticity, tradition and ethnic values. It showcases the excellent craftsmanship of our weavers and artisans.Each and every state of India has it own pattern, style,tehnique,design,inventive weaving and printing trend. Well like any other state of our country Odisha is famous for its handloom industry. Pochampally Ikat design which is a intricate geometric design makes the weave and stand apart. Pohampally Ikat sarees are woven in Bhoodan Pohampally Telengana. Not only sarees the market is flooded with skirts, kurtis, palazzos, shirts, bags, and what not all in the Ikat design. Its available in both cotton and silk material and trust me they are unique in itself. Odisha is also famous for Sambalpuri Saree which is a traditional handwoven saree produced in Bargarh, Sonepur, Sambalpur, Balangir District, Boudh District of Odisha. For weaving the Sambalpuri fabrics the threads are first tied-dyed and than woven into fabrics.The Sambalpuri sarees incorporate traditional motiffs like the shankha(shell), Chakra(wheel) sometimes the Wheel of the Konark Sun Temple and also Flower patterns, all of which have deep symbolism or related to mythology. Today not only Odisha but these sarees have gathered world wide recognition, people from all parts of our country love to adorn these drapes.Sambalpuri sarees also include Sonepuri, Pasapali, Bomkai, Barpali, and Bapta sarees which are equally famous and in high demand.
I purchased three sarees, all three are ikat cotton sarees from a stall named Boyanika. They also have a huge store within the city and also have their own website. You can google. They have huge stock of various kinds of Odisha handloom sarees, kurtis, shrugs, trousers,etc. Price range starts from Rs700- Rs800 approx and goes to sky high range. They also give nice discounts.
The red and black combination is an ikat saree with unique geometric patters priced at Rs2225/- and the other two sarees with temple design on both the borders and intricate geometric patters on the pallu were priced at Rs915/- We also received discounts on all the three sarees, I don’t remember the exact percentage it was somewhat 10% to 15%. The ikkat silks were really expensive, the starting range was from approximately 7k. We were on a budget trip so we excluded spending any more bucks on saree.
We also purchased some cool decorative handmade home decor items like table mats, wall hangings priced at around Rs330/- etc. from a store in Pipli. Thus not much but yes we bought tokens from Odisha, some for gifts and some for ourselves. Hoped you loved my haul post. Drop in your views and comments! Bye and take care.
