Tribal saris:
Tribal saris are
characterised by an important feature:
the
drape firmly covers the upper part of the body. These drapes often
require specific clothes, the Toda shawl for instance, rather
than a standardised sari.
When a veshti is closed above the breasts, I have called it "high
veshti". Many tribes all over India wear garments based on
such a simple drape.
Left: Toda women with typical draped shawls.
Right: the Boro "mekhla" worn by some tribal women of Assam. This interesting drape is made with a single piece of cloth, the size of a twin sized bed sheet.
In some styles the cloth is passed over one shoulder (usually the right) and knotted over the breast. I called these drapes "right shoulder tribal saris". Far right, the Pullaiyar sari, only remembered by few older women in the mountains between Tamil Nadu and Kerala.