Kolam, a Traditional Art

"Wow! What is this?" Both of them uttered these words simultaneously when they looked at the bright white kolams drawn in front of all the houses in a row. I remember the surprised looks on the face of the two Australians who had come to Chennai for their documentary film. I was working as an Interpreter helping them to translate the local conversation in English. They shot the different types of kolams before those houses and wondered how those women knew to draw such artistic pieces daily in front of their houses. They asked me if I know to draw kolams; when I told them 'yes', they were more surprised. I told them that the women especially in Tamil Nadu take pride in learning to draw kolams.

Now-a-days, Chennai has more number of apartments than individual houses. Yet, every day some one takes care or employs a person to sweep the front yard clean, sprinkle water and then draw kolams. The kolams are now-a-days drawn with crushed white stone powder. Women still draw kolams using rice flour on special occasions or festival days in their houses. Especially during celebrating 'Pongal' different colors are mixed with the white stone powder and kolams are drawn with it. Rangoli is also a type of kolam where different shapes are drawn with the colored kolam powder.

The ideal time to draw kolams is the early dawn. Even now people who live in villages get up daily around 5 am in the morning to clean their front yard, 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 the kolam. Different types of kolams drawn for special occasions speak volumes. Kolams helps the women here to express their creativity and helps them to get a release for their hidden artistic nature.