Bandhani

What it is

Bandhani is a tie-dye textile made in India. Its other name is bandhej; in Tamil Nadu the same kind of cloth is called sungudi. The maker pinches a very small piece of fabric, knots it with thread, and repeats this until thousands of tiny ties cover the cloth. After dyeing, the ties are opened and a dotted design shows through. Makers give different names to the ways of knotting, such as mothra, ekdali and shikari, and to finished cloth such as khombi, ghar chola, patori and chandrakhani. The word bandhani comes from the Sanskrit root bandh, meaning to bind or tie.

Where it is made

Today most of the work is in Rajasthan and Gujarat. It is also found in Sindh in Pakistan, and in Tamil Nadu, where this kind of cloth is called sungudi. In Gujarat the craft has belonged to the Khatri community of Kutch and Saurashtra. Knotting is often a family trade, and women tie patterns at home. Towns known for it include Pethapur, Mandvi, Bhuj, Anjar, Jetpur, Jamnagar and Rajkot. Bhuj is known for its red bandhani, and dyers there say the local water gives reds and maroons extra brightness. Cloth made across the Kutch belt is called Kutchi bandhani, and its bold patterns also appear in western Rajasthan and Sindh.

Colours and meaning

Colour carries meaning. Red belongs to marriage and to the rituals of married women. Yellow is tied to spring and to childbirth. Saffron is the colour of those who give up the world, warriors ready to die in war and yogis. Black and maroon are worn in mourning. Dyeing falls into two kinds, based on how well the colour lasts. In pakka work the colours hold firmly. In kaccha work they fade and can be refreshed, and this was once the preferred choice. The most complex patterns, on men's turbans and on women's odhnis, were dyed that way. Colours came from natural sources. A nineteenth-century writer, T. H. Hendley, recorded red and indigo taken from flowers, and yellow made by mixing turmeric with buttermilk.

Weddings and family life

A bandhani sari is a prized possession for a married woman and a usual part of a bridal trousseau. In Rajasthan and Gujarat it is treated as a ritual necessity for married women at many ceremonies. Many Gujarati brides wear a ghar chola, a bandhej sari whose name means robe for home. In ritual speech it means dress for the husband's home, and it is often a gift from the mother-in-law. In Rajasthan, when a woman is expecting a child or has just given birth, her natal family may give her a peeley ki sari, yellow cloth with a wide red border carrying bandhani patterns. People believe a bride who wears bandhani will have a good future.

Early traces

Dyeing in the region is old. Traces at Indus Valley sites suggest it was done as early as 4000 BCE, and the ancient city of Mohenjo-daro may hold early signs of the craft. The dotted look that bandhani is known for may appear in wall paintings from the sixth century CE at the Ajanta Caves, which show scenes from the life of the Buddha. Writers of Alexander the Great's time mention the printed cottons of India. The first bandhani sari is named in Bāṇabhaṭṭa's Harshacharita, at a royal wedding.

How Bandhani is kept

Family workshops, mostly women, do the tying at home. The cloth, often fine cotton or silk, is washed and bleached, then folded into two or four layers. A designer marks the pattern with wooden blocks dipped in geru, a clay pigment. Then the cloth is pulled up and knotted wherever colour should not reach, and dipped in a dye bath, starting with yellow, then tied again and dyed red or green, moving from light to dark. Borders are treated separately, with the lighter parts tied off under plastic foil. Some binders in Rajasthan lift the cloth with a pointed metal ring. Each round adds detail, until the knots are opened to show the finished dots.

When and where

Bandhani belongs to Rajasthan and Gujarat in India, and to Sindh in Pakistan, where the same bold patterns appear across the desert belt. In Tamil Nadu a related cloth is called sungudi. Gujarat's Kutch belt, Saurashtra, and towns such as Bhuj, Jamnagar, Jetpur, Anjar, Mandvi and Pethapur are known for the work, along with Udaipur, Jaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner and Churu in Rajasthan.

What Bandhani means

Each colour says something. Red is auspicious and belongs to brides and to married women's rituals, yellow points to spring and to birth, saffron marks those who renounce the world, and black and maroon are for mourning. A woman's bandhani sari is more than clothing: it marks her place in family ceremonies, and people believe it brings a good future. The finest patterns, whether for a man's turban or a woman's odhni, were kept in kaccha colours, which could be renewed whenever they faded, so the cloth stayed bright over years.

Questions people ask about Bandhani

See also

Persian gardenAn ancient tradition of creating walled, geometric sanctuaries of shade and flowing waterIkatA resist-dyeing craft from Southeast Asia, where yarns are tied and dyed before weavingPhulkariGeometric and floral threadwork embroidered by Punjabi women on handwoven cotton.Warli paintingSacred white rice paste murals made on red clay walls in western India

Good reading and sources

• Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle

• Bandhani on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.