Rabari Shepherd
Gujarat, India 2009
A handsome Rabari nomad leads his sheep to pasture. One group of Rabari wear red turbans. This one is a modest size, but some are as big as a pumpkin. The fabric is wound so tightly that men can take them off without unwrapping them. They are ready to be worn the next morning just as a hat would be.
This man wears a hip-length kurta or jacket. Some Rabari wear a waist-length jacket decorated with fine embroidery. I had thought to buy one but, thank goodness, talked myself out of it. Those clothes only look good on rail-thin people. Have you ever noticed a western man in a thobe or gandoura or djellaba? It just does not work on our well fed bodies.