| Kolams are
a symbol of auspiciousness. It is Hindu belief that that the geometrical
patterns & designs applied with rice flour at the entrance to a home,
invites Goddess lakshmi into the household, and drives away the evil spirits.
Also, the reason for using rice flour is that we are providing food for
the ants & other small insects. In these days finely ground white
stone powder is used, for this is easier to apply & also the kolams
are more brighter & well finished. Even if ground stone powder
is used, one could mix rice flour in it. In places, where there is
a great gathering of people & movement, rice paste made by mixing rice
flour with little water is used to apply kolams. This is to ensure
that the kolams are not rubbed off easily. This is especially applied
in temples & wedding halls. During Krishna Jayanthi, tiny feet
symbols are drawn using the rice paste from the entrance of the house leading
upto the pooja room, where the sweets made for the occasion are placed.
It is assumed that child Lord Krishna walks into each house & partakes
of the meal provided.
Traditionally,
the women wash the path in front of the house. (Cowdung is
used to clean up the ground, though this practise is no longer in vogue
in the cities, mainly because cowdung is not easily available & most
entrance path are now laid in cement or tiles.) Finely ground rice
powder is then used to apply kolams. This practice is followed in
the evenings also.
There are several
types of kolam designs. There are line kolams, where there is the
free hand drawing of lines to make a geometrical pattern.
Pulli (dots)
are arranged in a specific sequence and order & these pullis are joined
to make pictorial designs.
In pulli kolams,
there is an another type - forming of twisted chains by linking one loop
with the next & forming wonderful designs with the basic pattern. This
is called Chuzhi kolam.
Plates, Boxes
are available with the designs etched as tiny holes. When these are
filled with kolam powder & tapped on the ground, you have a lovely
kolam. Rollers are also availabe. The rollers are filled with
kolam powder & rolled/dragged to create lines, and with a little imagination
a kolam of your choice can be executed. |
