Rangoli is an art form, prevalent in India, in which patterns are created on the floor or ground using rice flour, flowers/flower petals, colored sand etc. It is usually made during festivals or during December-January timeframe. The bigger and beautiful the artwork, the more the pride and credit to the artists.
When the whole community gets involved and performs this artwork, the roads, homes and temples light up. There is festivity in the air. Sharing some of the special ones that I have loved over the years.
The street where a temple is located is called an “Agraharam”. In such streets, everyone competes to make such artwork during December-January timeframe
Sometimes, these are judges who are invited to rate these and they mark the winners. This is one such street where a competition had been held
During Onam (festival) in India, the artform is done purely using flowers and flower petals
Rangoli with colors
Rangoli done during Shiva-Shakti puja are made with dots and connections. Lines are drawn around the dots to connect them in complex ways making a pattern
Rangoli done for Vishnu are made with lines and connecting lines directly (no dots). They usually have the red soil decorations as borders
Diwali or Deepavali is the festival of lights. During this, the artwork gets additionally decorated with lamps and lights
I continue to be amazed by all these forms of artwork and the complexity involved with it! Sometimes it does take a village to make these.
Women/teams being assigned their square plots to do rangoli 🙂 This is common during Navaratri festival in India
Beautiful collection!!