Kolam....Tamil Rangoli

The entrance of Tamil homes during Deepavali is often decorated with the kolam. This is a beautifully designed floral item on the ground. To invite the Goddess Lashimi to enter their homes people light oil lamps around the compound and skillfully draw a kolam at it's entrance during Deepavali using a paste made of rice flour.People believe that this will invoke the blessings of the deity Lashimi . Kolam designs can depict flowers, animals or even geometric forms. Patience and skills are needed in amking the kolam as it is believed to bring happiness and prosperity.

Some times a kolam is drawn with bare fingers using predetermined dots. The dots are either connected together to make a pattern or loops are drawn encircling the dots to complete a design. Nowadays there are perforated rolling tubes, perforated trays and stencils available to speed the process of making kolams. During festivals and weddings, rice flour paste is used instead of the flour. This tradition of decorating with kolams is passed on from generation to generation.

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• chennai
• rangoli

[karabasaraba]

XxchimpanzeexX, By grinding raw rice without adding water, you can get the flour. This flour is also called rice powder. Some people use madurai vella kallu kola maavu (powdered white stones from the place Madurai in tamil nadu)

[XxchimpanzeexX]

I mean like what powder do you use to make it?

[XxchimpanzeexX]

How do you make rice flour?

[karabasaraba]

@XxchimpanzeexX , take a cup of raw rice and powder it using mixer or grinder, make sure the texture of powder is neither too soft not too coarse. To draw lines, take a pinch of rice powder between thumb and forefinger,pushing the thumb forward over the powder.

[XxchimpanzeexX]

How do you make the rice flour?