Rangoli - The Fine Art

Rangoli -an art for every home

Come this new festival season beginning from Shravana masa (Jul/Aug), we have a long list of festivals and other auspicious functions like marriage. Every house will be rejoicing this season with poojas, wearing new attires, exchanging sweets etc. There is also another ritual which can be seen during such occasions is the art of drawing different designs of Rangoli. This is not limited to these occasions only. They are followed by every Indian house hold every day by drawing the same in front of their houses. One should have watched that the lower part of the front door frame (Hosilu) is decorated permanently with the same. During the festivals, this will be a colourful page with varieties of multicolour designs are spread in the pooja room also. Drawing the same in front of the house is also a form of welcoming the guests.

Rangoli or Rangavalli is one of the popular artform. It is a form of sand painting decoration where finely ground white powder and colours are used. Ranga means colour and avali means row of colours. Its origin is traced back to legends recorded in Chitralakshana, the earliest Indian treatise on painting. In our ancient culture the concept of art, god and life were integrated with one another which are better exhibited in Rangoli.

This assumes different names in different parts of our land. It is Alpana in Bengal, Aripana in Bihar, Madana in Rajastan. The name Rangoli is popular in Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharastra. Chowka Purana is the nomenclature this in Uttar Pradesh and it is Kolam for Tamilians and Keralites. Telugu people call this as Moggu. The Aplana in North India refer to floor painting. In Karnataka this is popularly called drawing of ‘Hase’ and Halakkis call this as Hali.

Traditional motifs for the Rangoli are taken from nature itself. Peacocks, Swans, different flowers, fruits, creepers are used for the same. The colour used to draw is from natural dyes from the bark of tree leaves. Today, synthetic dyes are commonly used which is available in bright colours. Usually, flat surface is used for the base. However even walls are also used for this purpose. Finely grounded white powder is sprinkled uniformly. To give the same three dimensional effect different sized grains,cereals and pulses are used. Coloured powder can also be used for fancy decoration.

Normally the design employed is of specific geometric shape. Line,dots,circles,square, triangle, swastika are used here. One significant aspect of drawing the lines is that it should not be broken. This is with the belief that evil spirits will enter through the same. Rangoli is not something to be displayed in art galleries or to be exhibited in rich house as a symbol of status says B.P.Bayiri who can be called as an unique proponent in familiarizing this art to every modern day house hold in our state. His drawings of different designs and the art of drawing the same were published in the popular kannada weekly Sudha for many decades. Even its sister news paper Prajavani has brought out a special Deepavali edition of his collections in the year 1988 shows the immense popularity of this art form. Even today his books on Rangoli brought out from his Chitra Kuteera is a Bible not only for the beginners but for the experienced too.

Even in ancient heritage, in epics and in jain literature there is a reference to this art form. Even though Rangoli is based on a specific symmetry there is always a scope for the artiste’s imagination for development and creativity. Beauty takes the front seat in this art.

In our culture every auspicious occasion has a place for Rangoli. It is a pleasurable ritual in every house hold to draw the same not only in front of their houses but to offer pooja to the deities by suitably drawing Rangolis to the occasion. Each festival is uniquely significant. During Dasara all the ten days are celebrated as festival by drawing different Rangoli on each day. During Lakshmi pooja and Ganesha festival the pictures of the deities are drawn and are filled with suitable colours. Same is so on the Durga pooja. Holi, the name itself suggests colours are another festival for the people to express their festive mood with colourfully drawn Rangolis. Deepavali, is the festival of lights. During this time different designs of Lamps are drawn to welcome the guests. On Janmasthami, the foot steps of the Lord Krishna as child are drawn from the entrance of the house till the place of worship with the belief that the god will actually come into our houses to bless. Harvest season is another occasion where Rangoli takes prime place before offering pooja to the grains grown by the farmer.

This is also a form of offering pooja to the gods. Shakti pooja is the one which is performed by drawing different types of Mandalas depending on the pooja to be performed. Even Navagraha pooja where nine planets are identified with nine different types of grains and colours are arranged in accordance of their positions in the Mandala. Naga pooja is another which is perfomed to obtain the well wishes of the snake god with different forms of snake god is written and offered pooja. Thus, Rangoli has a significant place in our life right from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Even, auspicious functions like welcoming new born, or during marriage ‘Hase’ is drawn beneath the seat where the baby & mother or the bridal pair will sit. In marriages Hase is also drawn in front of the banana leaves spread for the lunch offered to the guests. Thus this has become a part of our life which is a rare synthesis of joy, faith, art, protection and beauty.

Despite modernization, the art of rangoli has not lost its identity. Though, the laborious drawing of the same by hand been vastly replaced by using templates of different designs and shapes. This apart various designs are printed on a synthetic sheet with glue on one side which can be fixed at any place of one’s requirement. However, as B.P.Bayiri repeatedly notes, there is no alternative to the rich tradition where it is drawn by hand. Nowadays, many cultural organisations and women’s associations organize competitions for the Ladies in an effort to promote this undying natural art and keep its continuity. Recently, drawing of Rangoli has been made more attractive and artistic by using fluorescent coloured glues, kundans and small beads of various colours. The sketch is drawn on a white paper and it is enlarged to the desired size. By placing a thick transparent polymer sheet on the same coloured glue is spread along the outlines and kundans & beads are glued at appropriate places. With this many complicated designs and the forms of various deities are also prepared which gives entire drawing a three dimensional outlook. Thus, Rangoli, with its traditional form has come through the ages with appropriate changes but its basic nature and intention remain unaltered.

K.S.Someswara
No.633, 22nd Main
4th Block ‘T’
Jayanagar, Bangaore-560041