Gond-related saris:

Usually a family of saris coincides with a definable group of ethnic or local communities. This is not so true with the Gond-related family. Some communities wearing these saris are very far apart from each other; they do not speak the same language or share anything in common. One of them is not even Indian. Yet, their drapes are clearly related to the Gond sari, of which many variations are found on women of all castes living in what was the Gond kingdom. It would be interesting to find out why.

The cloth of these styles is first arranged on the left shoulder (the upper part of the body). It is then draped clockwise from the shoulder to around the hips. The closing in most of these saris is typical of this family : a knot is simply tucked in the upper border as it passes under the right arm, coming from the left shoulder and going around the waistline.

Gond-related saris are also different because they require a cloth with two elaborate pallavs (decorated end of the sari), or, as with the Koli sari (far right), no marked pallav at all. Since one pallav is draped over the left shoulder and the other makes the closing on top of the sari, both ends of the cloth have an equal importance.

Left: The Mul sari, a simple variation of the style, worn by various castes near Gond tribal areas.

Far right: A Koli sari, worn tightly draped around the thighs. Much of the 9 yards required for this drape are tied around the waistline.

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