The Rajput nobility was particularly appreciative of laharia turbans, "laharia" meaning "wave" in Sanskrit.
This is a subtle type of dyeing, which attained to pinnacles of complexity and beauty in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries.
The dyeing is carried out over several stages, which all require delicate manipulations of the colourant and of the fabric. The cotton is first of all folded into an accordion across its width - this folding bears the name of pagri in Sanskrit. The cotton is afterwards rolled diagonally, and then carefully tied up with string at regular intervals before being submerged in a bath of dye. When the string is taken off and the turban unfolded, a magnificent zigzag motif appears, called gandadar in Sanskrit.
Craftsmen vouched for the origin of the finest pagris by selling them still tied. Once the string was cut, the motifs were revealed in an almost miraculous way under the very eyes of the buyer.
Still nowadays certain maharajahs call on private dyers, who create magnificent gandadars with five colours for special occasions.
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