Bloomin' Design Studio

Navrathri also known as Dusshera is a popular festival celebrated all over India for nine nights and 10 days. It is customary in some families in South India to display a golu during Navrathri. Golu is a display of dolls on odd number of steps depicting Hindu mythology. Marapatchi bommai(male and female doll made from marapatchi wood) is a must in a golu. Women and children are invited to see the golu. Women come in traditional silk sarees and girls in their silk skirts adorned with their best jewelry. Some women and children show their vocal talent singing devotional songs. Everyone who comes is given something to take home that will include a prasadam made of lentils with seasoning and may also carry home a small bag of gift which may include a fruit, kumkum, manjal, vethallai, pak and a small gift.

Please come over and see my golu. Hope you enjoy my golu as much as I did creating it. Happy Navrathri to you!

Rice soaked in water for an hour and then ground smoothly was used to draw the kolam.

Flowers from my garden were used to create this kolam at the bottom of my golu.

Full view of the golu.

Marapatchi bommai are the second set of couple from the left in wood that looks black. The sacks were handmade out of burlap and filled with various grains that is typical in a grain merchant store.

The idols of Ganesh displayed here are each made of a different material. Starting from the left,terra cota, Navadaniam(9 different grains), sandalwood, clay, marble, wood and metal.

You can see a couple selling flowers in baskets to offer to god.

“The Twleve Alwars”

The hill was made with paper and glue (paper mache) and the temple with wood.

The wooden dolls in this village are from Kondapalli, Andhra Pradesh. The straw hut and the stick hut were resued from a different project here.

The popcorn and fruit vendors and the fence were handmade with cardboard and paint.

The zoo was created using layers to give some depth due to the space restriction. The first layer starting from the back was the fence with gate drawn on paper. The second layer the tree created with paper. The third layer was the tiger den where the rocks and entrance to the den was also hand drawn and colored. The tiger was placed and then real rocks were added in the front of the tiger. To the left was the gorilla area where the tree was again created with paper and soil was added to the ground. The fourth layer were the elephants on the left and the zebra and giraffe on the right. I used reindeer moss and felt on the ground. The final layer that you can see in the front was the water body which was created using rolled up vellum paper with handdrawn and cut fish, greenary and frogs with a pink flamingo in the back.

The fruit vendors were made with clay and then painted. The clothes stand with hangers were made with wire. All the other shops were also handmade.

Thanks for visiting my humble home to see my golu.

People in the state of TamilNadu, India follow the tamil calendar which is based on the old Hindu solar calendar. This calendar consists of 12 months and 7 days in a week. Tamilians start of the new year by eating Manga patchadi which is sweet, sour and bitter made of raw mango, jaggery and neem flowers to signify different aspects of life. Bitter is to signify that the bitterness of life has been dealt with and we are now ready to move forward, sweet and sour signifies both the good and bad in life.

Have a very good new year!

Brinjal Plant Kolam
This kolam depicts a brinjal plant also known as an eggplant or aubergine. Color has been added to the flowers and tender brinjals. I have used crayons for coloring as I wanted to get the grainy look that colored sand gives. The number of dots go from a count of 13 in the center line all the way down to 7.

Flower Pot Kolam
This kolam shows a flower pot with flowers blooming. The flowers, leaves and pot have been colored in using watercolors. The number of dots go from 17 down to 9.

Scalloped Flower Kolam
This kolam has lots and lots of flower petals embedded in it. I have used markers for drawing the scalloped curves that form the flowers. The number of dots are repeating blocks of 4X4.

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.

Diwali/Deepavali is the festival of lights to celebrate Lord Rama’s return to his kingdom. Lord Rama spent 14 long years in exile, where he fought many hard battles with grit, determination and honor. His return home to his kingdom Ayodhya was celebrated by his people in pomp and splendor, a celebration of the triumph of good over evil.

Here is a simple handmade card that has embossing, painting, paper cutouts and drawing with glitter pens.