BEDAZZLED BY BOM KAI

THIS CELEBRATED HANDLOOM SARI FROM ODISHA IS KNOWN FOR ITS CLEVER USE OF AN EXTRA WEFT TO CREATE UNIQUE MOTIFS

- UTTARA GANGOPADHYAY

ALTHOUGH MANY SARI lovers know Odisha’s Bomkai by name, often it gets overshadowed by the more popular Sambalpuri sari," said Dr Anita Sabat. Sabat is a heritage enthusiast and cultural researcher, who works for Odisha handloom promotion and advocated for its Geographical Indication (GI) tag. In 2012, the GI Registry, Ministry of Commerce and Industry of the Government of India awarded the GI tag to the Bomkai sari and fabrics, which has helped the handloom to find a niche of its own. The sari takes its name from the village of Bomkai in the Ganjam district of Odisha.

"Although little is known about its origin, the sari woven in the past was of coarse cotton. The weavers used the clever method of introducing an extra weft design using the jalla technique," said Sabat.

Usually, the extra weft is used in the anchal or pallu. The extra weft may be of a different coloured yarn, which heightens the attraction of the pattern. According to a note on the government’s GI website, the uniqueness of the Bomkai sari lies in the fact that “There is no fixed layout for the anchal panels brought out by extra wefts’ colours.”