Rangoli – The Traditional Floor Patterns of India
Posted on June 9, 2008 in Art & Culture by Gitanjali
Rangoli (also known as Kolam, Alpana and by other names) is the traditional art of decorating floors of courtyards, places of worship and ceremonial eating places and sometimes walls of Indian houses. The powder of white stone, lime, rice flour and other cheap paste is used to draw intricate and ritual designs. Each state in India has its own significance and manner of painting Rangoli. Typically Rangoli is always drawn at the early sunrise by house lady. In early tradition the leading lady or the mother of the house used to lay Rangoli immediately after taking bath & prayer. In marriages, Deity festivals, Religious celebrations, Rangoli plays very important role in India.
Significance
Rangoli evolved from two words: Rang which means ‘color’ and Holi which translates to ‘celebration’. So Rangoli is an artistic celebration of colors. Basic lessons in physics teach us that all colors originate from white light. Similarly beneath all feelings, emotions, reactions and thoughts – there is a deep stillness always available to you. That is the true nature of you. Light is a mystic significance of cosmic stillness within to you beneath all colors of emotions. The moment you pass through Rangoli, the symbolism is that you are disconnected from the past and future. You are forced to remain in present.
The Theme
The designs used in Rangoli are symbolic and common to the entire country, and can include geometrical patterns, with dots, squares, circles, lines, triangles; the swastika, lotus, trident, fish, conch shell, footprints (supposed to be of Goddess Lakshmi), flowers, leaves, trees, creepers, anthropomorphic figures and animals. One important point is that the entire pattern must be an unbroken line, with no gaps to be left anywhere for evil spirits to enter.
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