The most ancient recorded Indian drape is the dhoti. Until the 14th century it was worn by both men and women across India with little gender differentiation in drape. Then the women's dhoti started to become longer.
The accessory cloth worn draped over the shoulders was sometimes transformed into the upper part of a longer sari, becoming the mundanai.
Awareness of colonial British attitudes about women's physical modesty accelerated the development of a longer sari and the adaptation of drapes to cover the breasts in the mid-19th century.
All dhoti styles of draping wrap each of the legs separately in some part of the sari. This creates a bifurcated garment.
Behind, a "tussah silk" sari. Each mannequin is set in front of a hanging sari. The colors of the saris (hanging and on the mannequin) were carefully selected to match.
The original Dravidian sari is the veshti-mundanai, which is draped in two parts: The veshti covers the lower part of the body, and the separate mundanai, or mundu, is a supplement to the veshti. The draping of the veshti is simple, and used all over the world, as when one drapes a bath towel about the waist.
Dravidian saris found in Tamil Nadu are draped with one piece of cloth, but are clearly adapted from a veshti-mundanai. No earlier than the nineteenth century, Tamil women joined the two pieces of cloth, creating a wide array of elaborate new saris as women of each region adapted the drape to keep their legs covered while walking.
The saris found in North-East India, mostly Bengal and Orissa, are related to the saris worn by the Dravidian people of Tamil Nadu.
Notice on the wall some of the photographs and, if you have good eyes, behind the mannequin's right arm, the explanatory drawings (with comments).
The Nivi family of saris is by far the most widespread. Forms of the Nivi sari are worn all over India, as well as in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, and Indian communities living abroad.
The base from which one drapes any Nivi sari is the "Modern sari". It has become very popular in India, even in regions such as Rajasthan where stitched clothes are commonly worn. The Modern sari is sometimes considered the sign of a progressive woman.
Characteristic to every drape in this family are the pleats that fall from the center front waist.
Behind, the blouses (cholis) displayed are part of the "fashion" exhibit. We put cholis only on the mannequins whose saris would be traditionally worn with such a garment.
Many variations of the Gond sari are found on women of all castes living in what was historically the Gond kingdom. Today, saris that are clearly related to these Gond saris are found in communities that are very far apart from each other, and have nothing else in common. The relationship between the communities and the drapes is still unclear.
Gond-related drapes are first arranged on the left shoulder, and are draped clockwise from the shoulder to around the hips. They require either a sari with two elaborate pallavs, or no marked pallav at all.
In the exhibit, this mannequin is accompanied by several photographs of this sari worn by the women of Mul, a small village between Chandrapur and Nagapur, in the State of Maharashtra.
The drawings tell you how this sari is held by a simple knot tucked on the side. All these drapes may look puzzling, but they're actually simple to make!
Although the mannequins are much taller than the Indian women who wear these saris, the drape adapts perfectly to their unusual anatomies!
Almost all of the draping styles of this family belong to communities that have been called "tribal", indicating their residence in areas of the country that are hilly, forested, and less accessible. They are developed out of the ancient veshti style, with adjustments for the cooler climates in which they are worn.
Tribal family drapes are characterized by a rolled or knotted closure above the breasts or shoulder. Another feature of these drapes is the addition of broad ribbons, belts, and in a few cases, capes. These styles firmly cover both the upper and lower portions of the body.
Originally the Khonds, who live in Northern Andhra Pradesh, wore rags draped over one shoulder. When they were able to afford 6-yard saris, they modified the drape to fit the length, passing it over the other shoulder.
