விடியல் · Dawn
வாசல் தெளித்து, அரிசி மாவால் இடும் கோலம், ஒரு நாளின் முதல் கலை.
Before the sun is fully up, the doorstep is swept and sprinkled with water. The ground darkens, cool and clean. Then, pinch by pinch, white rice flour falls from between the thumb and forefinger: first a grid of dots, then a line that loops and turns until it closes. In a few minutes the threshold is a welcome.
By noon the ants and the sparrows have shared the flour, feet have smudged the curves, and tomorrow there will be a new one. A kolam is not made to last. It is made to be made again, every morning, with a little more skill and a new idea.
கோலம் என்றால் என்ன?What a kolam is
கோலம் என்பது தரையில் வரையும் அழகு; எறும்புக்கும் பறவைக்கும் உணவு; வருபவருக்கு வரவேற்பு.
A kolam (கோலம்) is a design drawn on the ground. It is drawn most often at the entrance of a home, early in the morning, in white rice flour or white stone powder. The word also simply means beauty and form, and a kolam is exactly that: a small, fresh piece of beauty laid at the door for the day.
The ritual is simple. Sweep the ground. Sprinkle it with water so the powder holds and the white stands out. Then draw. There is pride and joy in drawing a large design without lifting the hand, the line running out of the fingers as smoothly as handwriting. Many people learned it the way children learn songs at home: by watching an elder at the doorstep every morning, then trying a small one beside it.
Many keep a kolam notebook, a book of dot grids and patterns copied from neighbours, festivals and memory, added to over years. Each page is an idea waiting for a morning.
புள்ளிக் கோலம்Pulli kolam: the art of dots
புள்ளிகளை வைத்து, அவற்றை இணைத்தோ சுற்றியோ வரைவதே புள்ளிக் கோலம்.
Pulli (புள்ளி) means dot. Most kolams begin as a grid of dots placed by eye, and the grid decides the design. There are two ways to set them out:
- Ner pulli (நேர் புள்ளி), straight dots: rows lined up one under the other, like a square of 5 rows of 5.
- Idukku pulli (இடுக்குப் புள்ளி), interlaced dots: each row sits in the gaps of the row next to it, giving a six-sided shape.
Dot counts are spoken in a short, handy way. “15 - 8 interlaced dots” means the middle row has 15 dots, and each row above and below it has one fewer, until the top and bottom rows have 8. “5 to 3” means a middle row of 5 narrowing to 3. Say the numbers and anyone who draws kolam can set out the same grid.
Good grids to start with are 5 to 3, 7 to 4 and 9 to 5. In a pulli kolam the line runs straight from dot to dot, building stars, diamonds and hexagons. Fill those shapes with colour and it becomes a pulli rangoli.
சிக்கு கோலம்Sikku kolam: one line, many loops
புள்ளிகளைத் தொடாமல், அவற்றைச் சுற்றி வளைந்து செல்லும் கோடுகளே சிக்கு கோலம்.
In a sikku kolam (சிக்கு கோலம்), also called chikku or kambi kolam, the line does not join the dots. It weaves around them, like a thread wound around pegs. The result looks knotted and endless, and the best ones are a single line that returns to where it began.
It follows a few clear rules, and the rules are what make it beautiful:
- Every dot is enclosed. Each dot ends up inside a loop of the line.
- The line never touches a dot. It curves around the dots with a little space all round.
- Lines cross at single points. Where two parts of the line meet, they cross cleanly, never run together.
- No loose ends. Every line closes back on itself. Nothing is left hanging.
- Smooth curves. Around each dot the line bends in an even, unhurried arc.
- Symmetry. Turn it or fold it and the design matches itself.
A sikku kolam may be one line or several loops. One line is the proud achievement, but a design of three or four loops can be just as lovely. Change one curve and the number of loops changes too, which is where the puzzle and the fun begin.
படிக் கோலம்Padi kolam: steps around a centre
நடுவில் ஒரு சதுரம், நான்கு பக்கமும் படிகள்: இணைகோடுகளால் ஆனது படிக் கோலம்.
Padi (படி) means step. A padi kolam has no dots. It is built from sets of parallel lines, two, three or more side by side, drawn around a square at the centre and stepping out on all four sides, like the steps of a temple tank seen from above.
Its calm, orderly shape makes it a favourite for auspicious moments. It is drawn on Fridays, at festivals, before weddings and at housewarmings, often in the pooja room or at the main door. Drawing many parallel lines evenly is a real test of a steady hand, and a padi kolam drawn well has a quiet grandeur.
மாக்கோலம், காவிMaa kolam and kaavi: for special days
ஊறவைத்து அரைத்த அரிசி மாவில் இடும் மாக்கோலம், சுற்றிலும் காவி: விசேஷ நாளின் அடையாளம்.
For the everyday kolam, dry powder is enough. For special days there is maa kolam (மாக்கோலம்). Rice is soaked, ground into a smooth paste with water, and drawn with the fingers or a small piece of cloth dipped in it. It goes on soft and grey and dries to a bright, raised white that stays for days.
Around the white lines a border of kaavi (காவி), a red earth colour, is often added. White on red is the look of a festive home: on Fridays, in the pooja room, on the doorstep for Deepavali or Karthigai, and for weddings and housewarmings.
இடமும் நாளும்Where and when: from the doorstep to the chariot street
வாசலிலிருந்து தேர் வீதி வரை, ஒவ்வொரு இடத்திற்கும் ஒவ்வொரு நாளுக்கும் ஒரு கோலம்.
A kolam goes wherever there is something to welcome. Each place and day has its own favourite kinds, sizes and colours.
வாசல், விடியலில்The threshold at dawn
பூஜை அறை, துளசி மாடம்Pooja room and tulsi
பொங்கல் அடுப்புThe kitchen at Pongal
தேர் வீதிTemple chariot routes
மணமேடை, மணைThe wedding manai
மார்கழிMargazhi, the kolam month
கோலப் போட்டிKolam contests
கல்லூரி ரங்கோலிCollege rangoli contests
இந்தியா முழுவதும் தரைக் கோலங்கள்Floor art across India
பெயர்கள் வேறு, பொருட்கள் வேறு; ஆனால் வாசலை அழகாக்கும் ஆசை எங்கும் ஒன்றே.
Kolam has sisters in every corner of India. The names, materials and motifs change from region to region, but the wish is the same: to make the ground beautiful and to welcome what is good. Here are some of them, each drawn from this collection in that style.
Rangoli ரங்கோலி
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka
Bright coloured powders, freehand or on dots, laid at doorways for festivals, with lamps glowing around them at Deepavali.
Muggulu முக்குலு
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana
Chukkala muggu joins dots, melikala muggu winds lines around them much like sikku kolam, and geethala muggu is built from lines alone. Sankranti mornings are their high season.
Alpana அல்பனா
Bengal
Flowing white designs painted with the fingers in rice paste: lotuses, creepers and feet of welcome for festivals and family rituals.
Mandana மண்டனா
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh
Crisp white line drawings on a red earth wash, on floors and walls, with geometric frames, birds and animals.
Aipan ஐபன்
Uttarakhand
White rice paste lines over a deep red ground, drawn with the fingertips in dense, careful patterns for the home and its ceremonies.
Aripana அரிபனா
Bihar
Rice paste designs drawn with the fingers in courtyards and before the place of worship, for festivals and family occasions.
Jhoti chita ஜோதி சித்தா
Odisha
Graceful white rice paste lines and motifs on floors and walls, drawn especially to welcome prosperity into the home.
Muruja முருஜா
Odisha
Fine coloured powders sprinkled into detailed designs around the tulsi and the courtyard in the festive season.
Pookkalam பூக்களம்
Kerala
Rings of fresh flower petals laid in a circle, growing a little larger on each of the days of Onam.
Chowk purna சௌக் பூர்ணா
Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana
Squares of flour and colour filled with patterns, made for pujas, weddings and the arrival of guests.
கணிதமும் கற்பனையும்Kolam as mathematics and creative thinking
சமச்சீர், சுழல்கள், வடிவங்கள்: கோலம் சிந்திக்கவும் கற்பனை செய்யவும் கற்றுத்தருகிறது.
Look closely at a kolam and you find mathematics drawn by hand. Symmetry: most kolams look the same when turned a quarter or folded down the middle. Loops: a sikku kolam is one closed line or a few, and you can count them, predict them and change them. Patterns: a small motif repeats along a border or grows outward ring by ring.
The two designs here use the same four dots. One makes two separate loops, the other joins everything into a single line. Nothing changed but one crossing. That small discovery is the heart of kolam as idea generation: keep the grid, change one turn, and a new design appears. Every expert’s notebook is full of these little experiments.
Drawing kolam trains the eye to see order, the hand to stay steady and the mind to ask “what if?” It is as good a puzzle for a child as it is a meditation for a grown-up.
நீங்களும் இன்று ஒரு கோலம் போடலாம்Your turn: start today
Every kolam maker began with one small grid. Watch one drawn, trace it with your finger, then let your own ideas take over.