Why I Invented India’s First Period Panty
When I was in 5th grade, I stained my uniform in school. I remember standing there, wishing I could disappear. No one asked if I was okay. No one asked why this kept happening to girls when sanitary napkins promised “no leak, no stain.”
That moment stayed with me, not as something I was ashamed of, but as a question:
If so many girls are staining even when they do everything “right,” isn’t it time we look at the products, not the girls?
Years later, when I started Adira, that question turned into action. In 2009, I invented India’s first Period Panty. Today, it is patented in India (Patent No. IN306901) and the USA (Patent No. 8,968,266) and recognized as India’s first Period Panty.
What I Saw That Others Ignored
Before Adira, girls were asking friends to “Please check my back,” or immediately checking the chair after standing or the sheets after waking up. They were:
- Wearing the pads advertised to them
- Changing as often as they could
- Layering up with dark clothes “just in case”
And still, stains were happening: while sleeping, in classrooms, in offices, on buses, during exams, and presentations. I wasn’t comfortable with a world where the solution was to tell girls and women to keep “managing better.”
I asked a different question: “What if her underwear could quietly protect her dignity in the background, instead of asking her to do even more?”
This wasn’t just a new product; it was reimagining what was already there. The solution was not in the sanitary pad, it was in the panty. Whether it is pads or tampons, the flow is nature & not regulated. And a woman can’t predict it. When the pad shifts or bunches, the stain comes out. So, the panty was reimagined: Can it play the role of a barrier to stains while the pads and tampons absorb?
What Makes Adira’s Period Panty Different
From the beginning, I designed Adira’s Period Panty as backup protection—a safety net that works with her primary period product, not against it.
- Real Life Protection: Follows how her body moves.
- Total Coverage: Makes sense for sleeping, sitting, walking, cycling, and travel.
- Breathable: Soft fabrics that are kind to the skin.
- Peace of Mind: Help her live her day without constantly wondering, “Am I staining?”
Our Stand: Why We Don’t Make “Bleed-Into” Panties
As the category grew, a new idea became popular: products that encourage you to bleed directly into the panty and wear it all day. At Adira, we chose a different path. After researching menstrual hygiene and skin health, our position is clear:
- Hygiene First: A menstrual product is best changed every few hours, not worn all day.
- Health: Menstrual fluid sitting in fabric for very long stretches is not something we want to encourage.
- Dignity: A Period Panty should support your safety, not replace healthy hygiene habits.
A Note from Deepa Vari, Founder of Adira
I’m Deepa Vari, Founder and CEO of Adira. As a young girl, I knew how it felt to stand in a classroom with a stain and think I had done something wrong. As an adult, I realized: she has never been the problem.
I created Adira’s Period Panty so that a schoolgirl can focus on her lesson, not her chair; and a woman at work can focus on her ideas, not her outfit. If you’ve ever worried about stains, for yourself or your daughter, I hope this invention gives you a little more peace of mind, every month.
What's Next?
My journey didn't stop with the Period Panty. In 2013, I realized girls were also "hiding" during breast development, so I innovated the World's First Starter Cami to address that too. At Adira, we solve the problems others choose to ignore.
