Kolam 2020

Around this time for the past few years, I would be hopping from mall to mall to photograph kolams for the upcoming Deepawali/Diwali festival.

This year, Covid-19 has stolen the fun from me.

Here, you might instead enjoy these photos I snagged from a local newspaper!

Kolam 2020

image credit - S.S Kanesan, Art Chen & Sia Hong Kiau

You can see photos of kolams I've captured over the years here - 2019, 2018, 2014.

Wishing all my Hindu pallies a very Happy *Deepavali in advance!

For those who are new to my blog, below is an excerpt from a previous post explaining what Deepavali/Diwali and kolam/rangoli are.

* Deepavali/Diwali also known as the Festival of Lights is celebrated by the Hindu Community to symbolize the triumph of good over evil; the victory of light over dark.

The entrances to Hindu homes are decorated with fresh mango leaves and kolams. It is believed that Lakshmi, The Goddess of Wealth, will only enter a home that is adorned with a *kolam. 

* Kolam is an ancient Indian art of drawing using colored rice grains or powdered rice to form symmetrical geometric patterns on the floor. The Hindus believe that a kolam at the entrance of a house will usher prosperity and harmony to the home. It is also believed that a kolam wards off evil spirits and diseases.

Another purpose of the kolam is to invite birds and small insects like ants to a home to symbolize man’s co-existence with and consideration for other living things.

Traditionally, the ritual is performed daily by the women of a household early in the morning.

Fun Kolam Facts 

1. The lines in a kolam must be continuous and unbroken so that evil cannot enter the house via the gaps.

2. The patterns are traditionally passed on from mothers to their daughters.

3. Kolam in the Tamil language means form and beauty.

4. As the kolam erases during the course of the day by birds and insects feeding on the rice, people's foot steps and the natural elements, a new kolam is drawn again the next morning, thus repeating the cycle. It imparts the idea that life is renewed daily.