Hand woven saree Pallu of the saree

The tradition is still very strong in Odisha and many handloom weavers have been placing religious scripts, classical poems, prayers and lines from popular bhajans or hymns onto scarves, saris and stoles. Repeatedly weaving the name of sacred personalities like Rama, Krishna, Shiva or Sita on a cloth gives it a devotional quality, which the wearers use to convey their sentiment or spiritual frame of mind.

The black and red sari woven by master-weaver Rama Mehr conveys a sense of drama by leaving the body unembellished, and decorating the pallav, or end-piece, with the devotional hymn, hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare / hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare. This kind of hymn is sung almost daily in temples and homes across the country. The same quality of devotion can be attributed to the one who wears the sari, while the script offers an aesthetic embellishment for those who do not speak the language.