Bloomin' Design Studio

In South India, it is a common tradition for woman to sprinkle water in front of their house and draw kolam using coarsely ground rice flour on the wet floor every morning just before sunrise. They are also drawn in front of altars. Some folks apply cowdung for its natural antiseptic properties to the wet floor before drawing the kolam. The white kolam also stands out when drawn on a floor with cowdung applied to it. Kaavi, a red brick paste is also applied to the borders of the kolam on festivals giving it that extra special touch. There are a multiple reasons why drawing of kolam is being practised. One of the obvious reasons is for decoration and to welcome anyone coming into the house. Hindu’s believe that it is an invitation to goddess Lakshmi who represents prosperity and also to drive away evil spirits. Another reason is to invite ants for an easy meal and not having to work that hard for a meal. The women also get a good exercise including stretching every morning as they bend down to draw the kolam. This also helps the women start the day off with focus and concentration. One never leaves a kolam incomplete as it symbolizes an open door for evil to enter one’s home. It is okay to walk on the kolam as new ones are drawn every morning. A walk early in the morning is never boring as you see numerous interesting kolams of all sizes and shapes.

So, what is a kolam? Kolam is a free form geometrical design created with your hands using rice flour. The drawing for a kolam starts off with dots from the center of the pattern. Some kolams have lines that join the dots and others have lines that go around the dots. These shapes are usually symmetrical and may represent flowers, animals, people and lamps. It is also known as Muggu in some regions. Another variation is called Rangoli and is practised in many parts of North India, where color sand and flowers are added to these drawings. It is not necessary for Rangoli designs to start off with dots as required for a kolam.