Kolam – an Indian Art..
by This is about kolam, an Indian art form of drawing designs with rice flour. It is also known as Rangoli. This article is specially meant for those who have not heard about this form of art.
Kolam is an art of drawing designs on the floor in South India. It is also known as Rangoli in the Northern parts of India.
In the South, the women get up early in the morning and sweep the portion in front of their main gate and then wash the place by sprinkling water. Then they draw designs with the help of kolam powder or rice flour.
A simple kolam:
Image via Wikipedia
Originally, it was a custom to use rice flour to draw kolams. This was done in order to feed small insects like ants, and birds like sparrows and crows and creatures like the squirrels. Even today some women follow this while many have turned to using kolam powder made with limestone.
Kolams are beautiful designs drawn through lines – curved and straight – and some have dots kept before they are joined together to make a lovely design.
During days of festivals and celebrations, these kolams are drawn in big sizes and decorated with color powder to make them look more attractive. In Kerala, rangolis are decorated with flowers during a festival called Onam which marks the beginning of their New Year.
A colorful kolam on a festival day:
Image via Wikipedia
In South India, in Tamilnadu, kolam competitions are held and prizes are given for the best kolam. During the month of Margazhi (which is in December), women get up very early in the morning and draw these kolams with rice flour. This is supposed to be winter season and a time when ants and birds find it difficult to get food. Hence our ancestors had designed it this way of feeding the needy.
Image via Wikipedia
In the South, there is another way of drawing these kolams during festive seasons. Rice is soaked in water for an hour or two and then ground into a fine paste. Water is added to make it into a thin liquid. By wetting a small piece of cloth in this liquid, curves and lines are drawn to make a beautiful kolam. This looks bright when it gets dried. This kolam is bordered with a red powder (again wetted) called “Kaavi” in Tamil.
Image via Wikipedia
Another interesting aspect of this art is it helps the women as a form of exercise too as they have to bend down while drawing these kolams. So kolam also helps one to keep oneself fit…
Now-a-days, individual houses have given way to many high rise apartments and flat systems have become common in cities. Hence there is no space for drawing kolams. Instead, flat owners paste kolam stickers in front of the doorstep. But in villages and small towns, kolam is still being drawn. People consider it a good omen also to have kolams in front of their gates. Though it is sad to see the decline of a beautiful art in cities, it is heartening to see it alive in some places at least.
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