Kolam Segaran
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Kolam (, , ), also known as Muggu (), Tarai Alangaram () and Rangoli (), is a form of traditional decorative art that is drawn by using
rice flour Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening ...
as per age-old conventions. It is also drawn using white stone powder, chalk or chalk powder, often along with natural or synthetic color powders. Its part of the South Indian culture and found across all South Indian States. It can be found in some parts of
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
and
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
. Since the South Indian diaspora is worldwide, the practice of kolam is found around the world, including in
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
,
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and a few other Asian countries. A kolam or muggu is a geometrical line drawing composed of straight lines, curves and loops, drawn around a grid pattern of dots. It is widely practised by female family members in front of their house entrance, although men and boys also practice this tradition. The similar regional versions of kolam with their own distinctive forms are known by different names in India: in Maharashtra, in
Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepa ...
, ''alpona'' in West Bengal and and in Kannada in Karnataka. More complex kolams are drawn and colors are often added during festival days, holiday occasions and special events.


Practice and belief

Kolams or muggulu are thought to bring prosperity to homes. In millions of households in
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
,
Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...
and
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
, women draw kolams in front of their home entrance every day at the break of dawn. Traditionally kolams are drawn on the flat surface of the ground with white rice flour. The drawings get walked on throughout the day, washed out in the rain, or blown around in the wind; new ones are made the next day. Each morning before sunrise, the front entrance of the house, or wherever the kolam may be drawn, is swept clean, sprinkled with water, thereby making for a flat surface. The kolams are generally drawn while the surface is still damp so the design will hold better. Instead of rice flour (/), white stone powder is occasionally used for creating Kolam;
cow dung Cow dung, also known as cow pats, cow poop or cow manure, is the waste product (faeces) of bovine animal species. These species include domestic cattle ("cows"), bison ("buffalo"), yak, and water buffalo. Cow dung is the undigested residue of p ...
is also used to wax the floors. In some cultures, cow dung is believed to have antiseptic properties and hence provides a literal threshold of protection for the home. It also provides contrast with the white powder. Decoration is not the main purpose of a kolam. In the olden days, kolams or muggulu were drawn in coarse rice flour so the
ants Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...
would not have to walk too far or too long for a meal. The rice powder also invites birds and other small creatures to eat it. It is a sign of invitation to welcome all into the home, not the least of whom is
Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...
, the goddess of prosperity and wealth. The patterns range from geometric and mathematical line drawings around a matrix of dots to free-form artwork and closed shapes.
Folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
has evolved to mandate that the lines must be completed to symbolically prevent evil spirits from entering the inside of the shapes. Thus, they are prevented from entering the inside of the home. It used to be a matter of pride to be able to draw large complicated patterns without lifting the hand off the floor or standing up in between. The month of '' Mārgaḻi/
Margasira Agrahayana or Margashirsha, ( or ), is the ninth month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, ''Agrahayana'' is also the eight month of the year, beginning on 16 November and ending on 15 December. Margashirsha means relat ...
'' was eagerly awaited by young women, who would then showcase their skills by covering the entire width of the road with one big kolam. In the kolam patterns, many designs are derived from magical motifs and abstract designs blended with philosophical and religious motifs which have been mingled together. Motifs may include fish, birds, and other animal images to symbolise the unity of man and beast. The sun, moon and other zodiac symbols are also used. A downward-pointing triangle represents woman; an upward-pointing triangle represents man. A circle represents nature while a square represents culture. A lotus represents the womb. A pentagram represents Venus and the five elements. The ritual kolam patterns created for special occasions such as weddings often stretch down the street. Many of these created patterns have been passed on from generation to generation, from mothers to daughters. Text messages like the word ''welcome'' (/) or a seasonal phrase, ''happy new year'', can also be used in kolam/muggu. Volunteering to draw the kolam at the temple is sometimes done when a devotee's wishes are fulfilled. The art of kolam designs has found its way into the future through social networking sites like Facebook. Many kolam/muggu artists have large fan followings online and are playing a role in making the kolam art form a key part of South India's contemporary art scene.


Variants

For special occasions
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
and red
brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...
powder for contrast are also used. Though kolams are usually made with dry rice flour (kolapodi), for longevity, dilute rice paste or even paints are also used. Modern interpretations have accommodated chalk, and more recently vinyl stickers. Though not as flamboyant as its other Indian contemporary, ''
rangoli Rangoli is an art form that originates from the Indian subcontinent, in which patterns are created on the floor or a tabletop using materials such as powdered limestone, red ochre, dry rice flour, coloured sand, quartz powder, Petal, flower ...
'', which is extremely colourful, a South Indian Kolam is all about symmetry, precision, and complexity.


Patterns

* a pattern in which a stroke (, , in
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
) runs once around each dot (), and returns to the beginning point as a mostly geometrical figure. The stroke is called from a snakey line. The stroke has a knot-like () structure. * a pattern using only part of the dot grid. If that is the case, the same pattern or a different pattern fills/uses up the remaining dot grids. Most of the time, these patterns together end up becoming a complex pattern. * a pattern in which a stroke runs around each dot incompletely, but open. * a pattern in which strokes (/) are connected between the dots. Sometimes they represent kinds of objects, flowers, or animals. * a pattern in which dots are set in a radial arrangement, called ''lotus''. * a pattern which is drawn freestyle and mostly coloured.


Research

* The mathematical properties of kolams are studied and replicated in computer science. Algorithms have been developed for generating kolam designs with different patterns. * Algorithms for drawing kolams are used in the development of picture-drawing computer software. * Kolams are a topic of research in computational
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
. * As kolams have a strong relationship with contemporary art and art history, they are used in the art and media fields. * Kolams are also used to simplify the representation of complex protein structures for easy understanding.Protein Kolam
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Gallery


See also

* Jhoti chita *
Kalampattu Kalampattu is a traditional performing art in Kerala, India. It is performed as a vazhipad (offering). Pattu kurup, a traditional community, is in charge of that function. This offering is performed for the blessings of gods like Bhadrakali, Ay ...
*
Kuberakolam A kuberakolam, rendered kubera kolam, is a magic square of order three constructed using rice flour and drawn on the floors of several houses in South India. In Hindu mythology, Kubera is a god of riches and wealth. It is believed that if one w ...
*
Rangoli Rangoli is an art form that originates from the Indian subcontinent, in which patterns are created on the floor or a tabletop using materials such as powdered limestone, red ochre, dry rice flour, coloured sand, quartz powder, Petal, flower ...
*
Sand mandala Sand mandala (, THL ''kyinkhor''; ) is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition involving the creation and destruction of mandalas made from colored sand. Once complete, the sand mandala's ritualistic dismantling is accompanied by ceremonies and viewin ...
*
Street painting Street painting, also known as screeving, pavement art, street art, and sidewalk art, is the performance art of rendering artistic designs on pavement such as streets, sidewalks, and town squares with impermanent and semi-permanent materials s ...
* Vanuatu
Sand drawing Sand drawing (or sandroing in Bislama) is a ni-Vanuatu artistic and ritual tradition and practice, recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. ...


References


External links

* {{commons category-inline, Kolam Tamil culture Arts in India Indian sandpainting Culture of Andhra Pradesh Culture of Tamil Nadu