Thazhampoo Reku

Textile motif comprising jagged triangular forms, repeated as a band along sari borders, particularly Kanjivaram saris from Tamil Nadu in southern India. It derives its name and shape from the sharp-petalled flowers of the screw-pine or kewda plant (Pandanus odorifer), known in Tamil as thazhampoo. This type of border patterning is commonly known as ‘temple border‘ for the motif’s resemblance to the pyramidal gopurams or entrance gateways in South Indian temple architecture.