Connecting Dots Connect Thoughts

Most of the households in Tamil Nadu welcome every day with bright, white-colored kolams. It is a routine task at the doorstep. Some households even arrange maids to sprinkle water and have beautiful kolams at their doorstep.

But, the month of December is something special. It brings not only chillness but also colors to every home in Tamil Nadu. This is what one would ideally see in a rural household, especially in villages.

The ideal time to draw kolams is early dawn. Even now, people who live in villages get up daily around 4 a.m. to clean their front yards, sprinkle water, and draw kolams.

Not a single day starts without a kolam. It is the first work of a woman in a household. The other beautiful thing about the kolam is that it reflects the personality of the woman who draws it.

Different types of kolams drawn for special occasions speak volumes. Kolams help the women here express their creativity and release their hidden artistic nature.

I remember how I learned to draw kolams when I was only eight years old. My daughter after watching me drawing kolams started to learn when she was only six years old.

After she took an interest in kolams, she would sweep the front yard of our house, sprinkle water, and draw kolams. I taught her some simple kolams that helped her to learn fast. But she loves to draw small Rangoli kolams using colored kolam powder.

There are three types of kolams. Kolams drawn by joining dots with straight lines, kolams drawn by joining dots with curved lines, and kolams drawn with a specific number of dots.

The dots are placed in different ways - a definite number of dots with a definite number of rows, a pattern of dots placed in a definite number of rows. It takes time to excel in the art of drawing kolams.

If every household in Tamil Nadu insists on sprinkling water at the door every morning and drawing kolams, there must be a strong reason for that.

Kolams have geometrical designs that can attract prosperity to the homes where they are drawn. Every morning before leaving home for work, I never forget to sprinkle water at the doorstep and draw a kolam of my choice.

In Tamil Nadu, during the month of Karthigai (October/November) every Tamil household who believes in tradition makes it a custom to light mud lamps at the doorstep every evening.

Before the lamps are lit, they adorn the place before the doorstep with beautiful kolams. This is believed to bring the blessings of Lord Muruga to the house.

After the month of Karthigai comes Margazhi. Being in the middle of November, it will be very cold in the morning. Despite this, women get up early in the morning to lit lamps at the doorstep. This is believed to bring the blessings of Lord Vishnu to the house.

It is a wonderful experience to get up early in the morning around 4 am to sprinkle ice-cold water and draw kolams at the doorstep. The fresh air and the perfume in the air will bring blessings to those houses adorned with sparkling white kolams of intricate designs.