Kolam

If I said that every Indian woman knows at least one craft form, would you believe me? Well, my friend did not, said she herself was the 'non-crafty' type! I wasn't going to give up so easily, so looked around and successfully spotted something to prove my point - the 'kolam' outside her front door! Isn't 'Kolam' a type of floor painting? Well, that made my friend an artist! :)
                 For the ignorant - 'kolam' refers to decorative designs made in front of their houses by hindu south indian women. The paintings are drawn using rice powder and can be considered as a painted prayer. The 'kolam' is traditionally drawn every morning before sunrise, after sweeping the floor, cleaning it with water and sometimes cow dung water for its antiseptic properties and darker background. Over the years rice powder has been replaced by cheaper and more convenient alternatives like limestone, chalk powder, sandstone, paints and sometimes even stickers.
                 'Kolam' is not just a decorative art that every woman was supposed to know. It is a sort of prayer for prosperity, gesture of welcome, symbol to ward off evil, and a mental & physical exercise for the woman who draws it! 'Kolams' have geometrically arranged dots with curly lines going around them. The dots symbolise the challenges in our lives and the line is our journey through life, facing these obstacles. There are different types of 'kolam' and the ones drawn for festive occasions are elaborate and intricate. During the month of 'Margazhi', women would draw fresh designs each day, without repeating the patterns.
                 Other parts of India have their own versions of 'floor paintings' - the colourful Rangoli of North India, floral 'Pookkalam' of Kerala, 'Muggulu' of Andhra Pradesh, 'Ariparna' of Bihar, 'Rangavalli' in Karnataka...
Here are some sites with more information on kolams and some beautiful kolam designs:
> http://www.ikolam.com/
> http://www.tamilnation.org/culture/kolam.htm
> http://www.saigan.com/heritage/alangaram/kolams/kolams.htm