Utkala - old name of Odisha ; Laxmi - Goddess of fortune and also the wife of Jagannath and since Jagannath is an avatar of Vishnu and Krishna, hence the authentic Cotton Utkalalakshmi saris always had blue on the pallu as Krishna is blue bodied The authentic ones were always woven on Cotton though lately they are also being woven on Silk, to attract more customers An Utkala Laxmi sari has bud motifs and 8 petals. The Puchuki flower motif is used in the border. In the body 4, 6, 8 and 16 petals’ Puchuki flower motifs are woven in between the chamber and empty space. The interplay of colours on the body is mesmerizing and it is extremely tough to weave.
An Utkalalakshmi sari is always a part of the trousseau when a daughter in a weaver's family gets married. It is a loving blessing, in the form of a sari that a father weaves for his daughter. It is well known that Double Ikats are some of the most time and labour-intensive weaves out there. It takes months of intent to weave one. The very name of the sari is synonymous with Odisha.
