COLOURFUL KOLANGAL: kolam

Showing posts with label kolam. Show all posts

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Friday, April 13, 2012

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Friday, March 30, 2012

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Friday, February 3, 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Friday, December 30, 2011

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Monday, June 6, 2011

KOLAM

Kolam" refers to decorative artwork drawn on the floor in front of houses and in front of deities in puja rooms. Most often finely ground rice flour is used to make these drawings on wet/moist ground previously sprinkled with water (even dilute solutions of cow-dung cake that gives a darker background to the mud floor). Coloration of the artwork with color powders adds additional charm. It is a time old cultural tradition of south indian families going back to many many generations. Young girls learn many of these artwork from their mothers, grandmas, aunties,.... The drawing starting with a certain number pattern of points and curly lines going around these points. Many of these are completed with a single line going in an elegant but zig-zag away around the entire set of points. The tamil month of "markazhi" (Dec(Jan) is particularly important when fairly large size Kolams decorate the houses, with additional decoration of Kolams with yellow flowers of pumpkin. Putting Kolams in front of the houses is very much in practice in south Indian villages. But unfortunately the practice is becoming nearly extinct in metropolitan cities where more and more are living in high-rise appartment buildings.