Dhoti worn kachhoraMen
The dhoti's back pleat drawn between the legs and tucked at the waist behind, converting a wrap into a working trouser. Worn with a bandi — a short sleeveless jacket — and a gamchha.
Worn for: Everyday and field work
Bundelkhand · Central Highlands & Forest Belt
Dress and textiles
Bundelkhand is not a weaving region — it has no loom tradition of its own comparable to the metal and stone work — so dress here is about how cloth is worn rather than how it is made. The identifying items are the Bundeli safa, tied flatter and broader than the Rajasthani pagri, and the kachhora, the working dhoti pulled up between the legs and tucked at the back, which is what a man wears to walk a field or a tank bund.
What is worn
Bundeli safaMen
A turban tied low and broad with a flat fan at the side, in saffron, red or white. Colour and tie both read as community and occasion markers to anyone local.
Worn for: Weddings, fairs, Alha gatherings
Lehnga, angiya and odhniWomen
A gathered ankle-length skirt with a fitted bodice and a long head-and-shoulder cloth, in printed cotton. The odhni is drawn over the head in front of elders and is the piece that does the social work.
Worn for: Everyday, rural
Rai costumeBedni dancers
A heavy full lehnga that flares when the dancer spins, with ankle bells, worn over a tight bodice. The weight of the skirt is functional — it holds the turn's shape at speed.
Worn for: Rai performance
Saree worn Bundeli styleWomen
Worn with the pallu brought over the right shoulder and tucked at the waist so both arms stay free for work, rather than left hanging.
Worn for: Everyday and festive
Weaves and textiles
Handloom cotton of Chhatarpur and Mau (Banda)Chhatarpur, Banda
Small surviving cotton weaving clusters producing plain and checked yardage, gamchhas and bedcovers for local use. Modest work with no protected name, and shrinking.
Bundeli block-printed cottonChhatarpur, Tikamgarh
Hand block printing in red, black and indigo on coarse cotton for odhnis and ghaghras, historically supplying village markets rather than any court. Much of what is sold as Bundeli print today is mill-printed.
Jewellery
Hansuli — the rigid silver neck torqueKardhani, the silver waist chainPaijan and kada, heavy silver ankletsBendi and borla worn on the foreheadNathiya, and lac-and-glass bangles worn in stacks
Traditional dress of Bundelkhand — garments, handloom weaves, GI-tagged textiles and jewellery. (7)