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Chapter 2: Dravidian saris
2DRAVIDIAN SARIS
Dravidian saris are basically draped in two parts. The veshti1 covers the lower part of the body. It is supplemented by a separate mundanai or mundu.
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The draping of the veshti is very simple and virtually universal. Most people all over the world use this drape to wrap a bath towel around themselves.
Various forms of veshtis were worn in India, and are represented on many sculptures and paintings from numerous places, as early as the 2nd century BC. (Right, a drawing made from a sculpture of the 8th century, from Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh.)
Nowadays, styles of veshtis are worn by women of some tribes or castes as far as Kutch (Gujarat), and in South-East Asia.
Dravidian saris are found mostly in South and Eastern India, as shown on this map:
Area where veshtis are worn by men and women.
Area where men wear veshtis and women Tamil saris.
Area where Tamil saris were worn at the beginning of the century. Area where Eastern saris are worn (and Santal saris in tribal areas). Area where some forms of Santal saris or veshtis are occasionally found in specific ethnic groups.
Today, veshtis are mostly worn by both sexes in Kerala. In Tamil Nadu, they are reserved for men, since women joined both pieces of cloth, creating many elaborate new drapes, probably not earlier than the 19th century. The draping of Tamil saris did not change much from that of the veshti-mundanai, except that this new fashion had one big inconvenience : when walking, the sari was pulled upwards by the mundanai, revealing the legs. Women in each region of Tamil Nadu found their own solutions and adapted their draping in order to remain “decent”. The saris of North-East India (mostly Bengal and Orissa), although not worn by Dravidians, are clearly related to these drapes.
Men’s veshtis should not be confused with lung is, worn by men in South India and by Moslems all over India and in Bangladesh. A lungi is always made of thick coloured cloth and stitched along the height. Because it is only partially draped, I didn’t include it in this book.
