पहनावा और वस्त्र

Ponduru khadi dhoti, saree and shirtingMen and women

Hand-spun, hand-woven cotton of very high count, worn plain or with a narrow border. It is bought as much for its politics and its handle as for its look, and it gets softer with every wash for years.

किस मौके पर: Everyday and formal

The northern Telugu saree drapeWomen

Six yards worn with the pallu over the left shoulder, and in older rural practice a longer cloth taken between the legs for field work. The drape shifts towards Odia conventions in the northernmost mandals.

किस मौके पर: Everyday and ceremonial

Panche and kanduvaMen

A cotton dhoti with a shoulder cloth, still standard dress for temple service, elders and agricultural households on the plain.

किस मौके पर: Everyday and ritual

Gadaba kerang clothGadaba women, in the ghats

A striped cloth woven from the bast fibre of a forest creeper rather than from cotton, made on a simple loin loom. Very few weavers remain, and the tradition continues on both sides of the Odisha boundary in the same hills.

किस मौके पर: Ceremonial, and now rarely

Ponduru Khadiजीआई टैगSrikakulam

Registered as a geographical indication in 2023. Spun on the charkha from a short-staple cotton grown locally, with the raw cotton cleaned and aligned using the jawbone of a fish before spinning — a step no machine has replaced, and the reason the yarn reaches counts that mills cannot match on that fibre. Gandhi's association with the cloth is the standing local claim to fame and it is a well-documented one.

Bobbili and Vizianagaram cottonsVizianagaram

Plain and check cottons woven on pit looms across the estate towns for local wear. The trade shrank hard against mill cloth and survives on cooperative purchase.