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Margazhi special

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by recipiesdirect, Dec 25, 2008.

  1. recipiesdirect

    recipiesdirect Bronze IL'ite

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    History of Kolam Big Laugh

    The colorful Kolam tradition dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization (2500 B.C). In the Mahabharata, the gopis (milkmaids) drew kolams to forget the pain that they experienced when their beloved Krishna is away. At a much later date, Kolam-drawing is listed as one of the 64 forms of art in Vatsyayana's Kamasutra.

    Significance

    The Kolam is much more than just an aesthetic art. It symbolizes happiness and prosperity. Insects and birds feed on the rice flour used for drawing the traditional Kolam at the entrance of houses. Thus, the Kolam represents man's concern for all living creatures. The Kolam and the bright red border or kaavi enclosing it are also believed to prevent evil and undesirable elements from entering the houses.

    Drawing Pongal Kolam

    On the day of Pongal, family members jointly draw the kolam with rice flour that can be plain as well as colored. Parallel straight lines can be drawn using a cylindrical rod (Ulakai) as a guide. A kolam can be a plain one or can be artistically drawn with symbols of cosmic interest. The kolam defines the sacred area where the Pongal is prepared.

    Within the perimeters of kolam, typically, firewood is used to cook the rice. The Pongal is set up in the direct view of the Sun (East). Traditionally, the kolam is laid in the front or side of the house, but in cold climes where cooking indoors with firewood is hazardous, the Pongal can be prepared in kitchen and brought to the location where kolam is set up.

    The kolam is drawn with a variety of materials such as rice powder, rice paste, marble powder, colored powders, leaves and flowers. The kolam basically consists of dots and lines that together form a meaningful design. Usually, a grid of dots numbering from 4 to 108 is used for drawing the kolam. The points are joined with straight and curved lines or else, the lines go round the points resulting in a design consisting exclusively of curved lines.




     
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  2. swathi14

    swathi14 IL Hall of Fame

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    Wow. Excellent kolam and with a detail explanation about Kolam.

    But now, none is doing elaborate kolams - but nice to see the Paneer poo kolam and Rangoli.
     
  3. pavithrasriram

    pavithrasriram Bronze IL'ite

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    hi recipesdirect,
    nice explination on kolam i really like the first pic on maa kolam.looks very nice.
    regards
    pavi
     
  4. hsgirijamba

    hsgirijamba New IL'ite

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    nice kolams and their significance.

    thanks.
     
  5. Bhuvag

    Bhuvag New IL'ite

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    Hi,

    Excellent kolamas.
     
  6. subbu1

    subbu1 New IL'ite

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    do u have any dotted kolams or rangoli with dots small with animals butterfly and designs can u send 2 subbulakshmi79@gmail .com
    thks
     

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