Lal Paar Sada: The Bengali Red and White Saree, and How to Wear It

There is one saree that needs no explaining in Bengal. White ground, red border, gold or red pallu. Lal paar sada. You see a thousand of them on Vijaya Dashami morning and not one of them looks out of place.

What it actually is

The name is literal: lal paar is the red border, sada is the white body. The classic version is a garad or korial silk — an undyed off-white silk woven in Murshidabad, with a solid red border and often a red-and-gold pallu. Garad silk is traditionally left unbleached, which is why a real one is cream rather than optical white.

Cotton taant versions exist too, and are what most people wear for the long pandal-hopping days. The silk is for Ashtami morning and Dashami.

Why Dashami

On Vijaya Dashami, married women offer sweets and sindoor to the Goddess before she leaves, then smear sindoor on each other — Sindoor Khela. The red-and-white saree is worn because red is the colour of the sindoor and of Shakti, and white is purity. Practically, it is also the one saree where a smear of vermilion down the front is part of the day rather than a stain.

It is not restricted to married women any more, and in most pandals in Kolkata now everyone joins in.

Choosing one that is not a costume

• Look at the white. A true garad is warm off-white. A stark, bright white with a printed red band is a mill copy — fine as a second saree, wrong if you want the real thing.
• The border should be woven, not printed. Turn it over. On a woven border the red carries through to the reverse. A printed one is white on the back.
• Zari on the pallu. Traditional garad keeps it restrained — a red pallu with fine gold lines. Heavy all-over zari belongs to a Banarasi, not a garad.
• Weight. Silk garad is light. If it feels heavy and stiff, it is likely blended.

Browse the traditional saree collection for the red-and-white classics, and silk sarees for the garad and korial weaves.

How to style it

The saree is loud enough. Everything else stays quiet.

• Blouse: plain red, or red with a thin gold border. A contrast blouse fights the saree.
• Jewellery: gold. Shakha and pola at the wrist, jhumkas, and a nose ring if you wear one. Silver reads wrong against this palette.
• Drape: the Bengali atpoure drape, with the pallu brought over the left shoulder and the keys knotted into it, is the traditional one for Dashami. The standard nivi drape is perfectly acceptable for the rest of the days.
• Hair: a low bun with white flowers.

If red and white is not for you

Plenty of people wear an off-white silk with a gold border instead, or a soft Dhakai Jamdani in cream. The idea — light ground, definite border — carries through. For the other four days, the festive collection covers everything from cotton to full silk.

Frequently asked questions

What is a lal paar sada saree?

A white or off-white saree with a red border, traditionally in garad or korial silk, worn in Bengal during Durga Puja and especially on Vijaya Dashami.

Can unmarried women wear red and white on Dashami?

Yes. Sindoor Khela was traditionally for married women, but the saree itself is worn by everyone, and most Kolkata pandals now welcome all women into the ritual.

What is the difference between garad and korial?

Both are Murshidabad silks. Garad has a plain undyed body with a red border; korial is finer, usually with a more worked pallu. The names are often used interchangeably today.

How do I care for a garad silk saree?

Dry clean only, store folded in cotton — never plastic — and refold along different lines once a year so the silk does not crack at the creases.

See our Kolkata stores at Park Street and Gariahat, or shop the Festive Collection online with COD across India.