Kolam

One of the more beautiful traditions in Tamil Nadu is the kolam, which refers to the decorative artwork drawn in front of homes and deities in puja rooms. The intricate symmetric designs and mandalas are a part of a long cultural tradition of south Indian families and are passed down from women to girls. They are considered to be a sort of painted prayer and often designs carry special meaning from family to family. Every morning you can see women drawing exquisite kolams in front of their homes and, by afternoon, they have all but disappeared due to wind, rain or human feet. This, of course, is part of what makes them so special.

The base is usually finely ground rice flour or chalk and can be simply white or with numerous colors. Today, Joyce decided to do a kolam in front of our home and, with the help of Kaia and Sekar, created a masterpiece. Usually, it is on Friday that she draws a kolam in her own home, so this was an appropriate day to do it at our place. Kaia showed amazing restraint in not jumping in an messing it all up (as he’s into these days with puzzles and blocks), and was quite deft at tip-toeing around the perimeter. I just crossed my fingers that he wouldn’t slip and fall right in the center.

It is hard to know how long it will last (since we’re in a flat, there is not concern about wind or rain), but with the steady stream of visitors, I’d give it about 2 days. It is great to know, however, that we’ll be making another one soon.

Why I Love this Time: His love for puzzles and the ritual of putting in the last piece together.