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Sambalpuri Ikats have been
woven for centuries with the
tradition and technique being
passed down from father to son.
nature and life in Odisha; and with the border
comprising of several bands with small woven
motifs in them.
Among the motifs featuring on the end panel
are temples such as the sacred Jagannath
Temple, deities, mythology events featuring
people and animals, natural scenery like the
Chilka Lake with birds, the conch shell, fish,
flowers, leaves,
rudraskha
, deer, swan, and
elephant. And as these motifs are curvilinear,
they reflect the high art of the weaver who
tie-dyes the yarn to perfect accuracy and then
weaves a fabric with these yarns to obtain a
textile with motifs!
Weaving Successor
I was born in a family of Bhulia Mehers, who
are traditional weavers, and grew up in Barapali,
a small town in the Bargarh district in western
Odisha. I observed my grandfather and father
late Padma Shri, Shilp Guru Kunj Bihari Meher
spending the day discussing the Sambalpuri
Ikats to be woven, tying yarns to be dyed
according to the motifs on the design of the
saree, dyeing yarns, setting the warp yarns on
the loom and then weaving in the weft yarns at
the pit loom to create beautiful weaves.
Growing up in a milieu of weaving Sambalpuri
Ikats, it was natural for me to follow the
footsteps of my forefathers and take up
weaving at a young age. I always remember my
father’s wise words of encouraging me to study
and learn English. He said, in today’s world it is
simply not enough to create exceptional textiles.
One has to be aware of how the market is,
what customers are looking for, what other
craftspersons are producing and the culture of
other places and that a formal education was
important to access all this.
My education opened up the world to me and
helped me create fine weaves and communicate
about our art to others. It is a source of
immense pride for us to keep up the tradition
for there are two main products of eastern
India which have created a name and market
for themselves on the international level – one
is Darjeeling tea and the other is Sambalpuri
Ikat!
Tradition and Technique
Sambalpuri Ikats have been woven for centuries
with the tradition and technique being passed
down from father to son. Its intricate patterns
and motifs are evident in the attire donned by
sculpted female figures gracing the Konark
temple, the attire of Ganga and Jamuna in
Chandi Temple of Saintal, the figure on the
Baidyanath Temple near Sonepur and the statue
of Padma Sambhu among other figures.
In earlier days, weavers used to weave
