Kolam - My Very First Time

"After lunch break we are going to make kolam for the coming Deepavali (Diwali) celebration. Those who are free can come and join." My colleague, Kalaivani announced this earlier this morning. I was so excited upon hearing this announcement. Kolam is a form of painting that is drawn by using rice powder/ chalk/ chalk powder/ white rock powder often using naturally/ synthetically colored powders in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and some parts of Goa, Maharashtra, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and a few other Asian countries. 

It is a symbol of auspiciousness. The Hindus believe that the geometrical patterns & designs applied with rice flour at the entrance to a home, invite Goddess Lakshmi into the household, and drives away the evil spirits. Today, we were using colourful rice for making our kolam. We took almost two hours to complete the kolam. It was indeed a beautiful experience for me, a Bidayuh's girl.

See you in the next entry!

XOXO,

erel