The kolam or rangoli is a wonderful example of how art is used as an everyday ritual in India. It is auspicious because it protects, keeping the evil eye away, and welcomes visitors and of course the gods, especially Lakshmi, the goddess of the household, who brings prosperity. For Diwali every year I generally stick to the traditional diya rangolis while for dasera its a flower rangoli.
This year was special since my 4 year old son was all excited to dabble with a flower rangoli for dasera. So we started with ordering fresh flowers across a variety which he would love….yellow and gold marigolds, kanher, gulchadi…it was a beautiful experience to appreciate the freshness and purity of the flower rangoli. Very child friendly and made for some creative time for him.
If you wish to learn more then do check Nithya’s kolam blog
I found it to be quite elaborate and it will give you ideas to start thinking up your own Kolams or Rangolis. We graduated from flower Rangolis to padi Kolams and then to free hand Rangolis of a Elephant, Crocodile, Duck, Santa Claus and yes…believe it or not even the logo of Manchester United! This is what happens to a boy mommy I guess…never imagined I would be dabbling in making Rangolis of the red devil himself 🙂
For most of the weekends my son would be excited on what rangoli we can do jointly and we would close out on the theme on Fridays. I would generally make the outline while my husband (Never initiated in filling Rangolis before this!) and son would spend a hour or so deciding colours and completing the rangoli.
So go ahead and enjoy the world of floor art or Indian sand art. I will keep this space updated in the newer categories of Kolams or Rangolis that we experiment with
http://nithyaskolam.blogspot.in/p/about.html
quirkymums 