Kolam by Sudha Balaji

  This is a huge elephant kolam ( excuse the pun !!) with 21 by 1 dots.  One of the favourites for Sankranthi muggulu or Pongal kolam.  It is not very time consuming since the patterns repeat.  Once we know how to draw one of the elephants ( of the herd !!) it is easy to draw the other elephants.  The patterns at the centre and those at the dots remaining at the four corners can be drawn according to our wish.  This is also suitable for New Year rangoli design if you are looking for big kolam I presume that someone who comes in search of grand kolam may have a long experience in drawing rangoli the traditional way.  So the steps are in the reverse order. I have shown only the white muggu.  We can add colour as we please.  That is the liberty we have in kolam art . Elephants need not be grey , they can be filled with any bright colour One more step for this Sankranthi big muggulu One of the biggest muggulu designs with dots step by step through images Big muggulu with dots can also be

What is kolam - Kolam means beauty , beauty due to symmetry.  The opposite of kolam means not in order, haphazard.   Hence kolam means in order , symmetry etc.  Neli kolam category and symmetry are synonymous. When you view a nelivu kolam ( one of the many names for this variety of rangoli - called melikala muggulu in Telugu , gantina rangoli in Kannada ) from any direction you will find symmetry. Let us start this post with  a sikku kolam with 8 pulli first  We can draw it for weekdays ( Monday to Thursday , except Friday ).  I do not draw these on Fridays.  There is no specific reason.   Next kolam is also a 8 dots sikku kolam , seems easy but can be a bit tricky and demands lots of concentration like almost all kolangal of this type   After sikku kolangal let us try a regular dot kolam with 8 dots  Step by step pictures for this pulli vacha kolam - an eight dots rangoli  Chukki rangoli with square dot pattern   We all love to draw birds .  The beauty of kolam is that we do not draw

A collection of very simple kolam that we can try for Margali masam.  These small kolangal can be drawn as kolams without dots .   Add colour to get awesome designs. While medium size and big rangoli designs are popular during this month.  Occasionally i.e at least a few times in 30 days we may need  small rangoli too . The first three  rangoli designs can be  tried as pulli illatha kolam .  I have shared only the white kolam.  Please add colours .  It is practically difficult to share all kolam with colours.  I will exhaust my stock quickly and will have to trouble my sister to send it from Nagpur :) 1) White rangoli without dots small 2) Without chukki small white rangoli 3) One more small and simple kolam 4) Birds kolam small and simple - white peacocks , may be  Sikku kolam of various sizes are hugely popular during Dhanurmasam aka Margazhi .  Here I share a beautiful chikku kolam through few pics The dot pattern is 9 dots 2 rows then 7,5,3,1                                       

This kolam can also be drawn free hand.  I have used 7 into 1 dot pattern to make it little easy.  When we are looking for small and beautiful rangolis for Dhanurmasam or New Year I think such designs fit the bill.  Of course we can add colours instead of shading with white kola podi.   As a plain white rangoli it can be used for our daily purpose kolangal. Five , seven and nine chukki rangoli designs are among the most popular because invariably grid size is directly proportional to time taken and complexity.  Invariably because there are exceptions to the rule and those exceptions are quite a few. 7 to 1 chukkala muggulu variety - step by step images  See how decorations and shading increase by leaps and bounds a simple dot kolam with lines  If you are looking for 7 ner pulli kolam or 7 dots rangoli kolam  this may satisfy your query to Google :)  

We may be looking for easy rangoli for Margazhi due to lack of space , the problem faced in cities or because we are drawing kolam for the first time and  would like to join the month long celebrations of Margazhi known for kolams also.   I have shared five simple rangoli .  The 3rd to 5th rangolis are smaller than the previous two.  You may try all for the ensuing season.  1) Beautiful without chukki rangoli   2) One more small rangoli without dots  3) A very small and cute kolam for Margazhi , why not  This gallery who is for those who get intimidated by big rangoli or who do not have time due to other reasons to draw complex kolam for Dhanurmasam.  We have to follow the tradition of drawing kolam daily in the morning , particularly during Margali.   It can be a small kolam too One more small pulli illatha kolam  I will add some more ideas to this collection .  Here is one more of the many images on this website. If you want small kolam for Margazhi month or Margali kolam small you m

Drishyam or visuals are the best ways of remembering things.  I observed by mother and elder sisters draw rangoli designs daily and of course for Margazhi , Pongal festivals. For 30 days they made huge rangoli designs both free hand and with colours.  My task was to pick up the boxes with colours and give it to them , occasionally I was given the responsibility of filling colours in one element ! I learnt observing them and then practising lines and patterns on my own on a cement floor.  I have come a long way since then. I have shared the step by step images for just one rangoli in this blog post.  A common pulli kolam drawn in our family for decades particular for Sankranti festival Simple flower patterns and butterflies are matching designs in any rangoli.   It is very easy to represent butterflies and flowers in muggulu .  That is the beauty of this art.  All of us can become artists. This 15 chukki rangoli can also be drawn for Dasara for golu decoration. A very simple muggu with

Sankranthi muggulu | Pongal kolam designs 13 to 7 chukkala rangoli.  We can term this as a medium size rangoli based on the size of the dot grid.  Again medium is a relative term.  I consider upto 15 dots as medium size dot pattern. Step by step images for this 13 to 7 chukki rangoli  Draw the parrots as shown in the images Decoration with the remaining dots is left to our imagination Just shading may be sufficient for Dhanurmasam , for Bhogi or Pongal we can use colours  This muggu is with 15 to 8 dots  This is a popular parrot kolam. There were requests for a video for this designs.  I have shared it on Facebook and YouTube  Two muggulu designs with parrots as theme.  I have added intermediate steps.  Please try for Dhanurmasam , New Year or Sankranthi festival   If you are looking for 15 chukkala muggulu with colours or 15 chukki rangoli the kolam above may be  apt.

The dot grid is placed vertically.  It also comes under the category of sangu kolam or star kolams.   In case you have missed it in the title the dot pattern is 13 by 7  Rangoli tip : If you see the second image you will notice that I have joined all the dots with a single straight line with no joints.  If we practice thus , the kolam looks more beautiful.  I have not added colours but patterns with white kola podi.  We can try will colours too for Margali or New Year                                                                       Step by step pictures for this chukki rangoli 13 by 7  Once you draw the star pattern - connecting the dots to form this design is a little tricky.  That is why I have shown 3 steps  White rangoli has been shown.  We can add colours if required .  We can draw white kolam occasionally for Margazhi too.  Check the background i.e the colour of the floor before you decide 

Idhaya kolam or thamarai kolam is drawn as shown in the image above.  Place five dots in eight directions. The first set of lines is shown on the top left of the image.   These kolams are drawn on Fridays in Pujai room only.  They can also be drawn for Tulasi maadam.   Decorate with kaavi   The first kolam is Aiswarya kolam or Iswarya kolam .   The image above shows the step by step procedure to draw the kolam.  The dot pattern is 7 dots at the centre, 8,7,6,3 on either side.  Many viewers on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram ask me as to what kola podi I use because it has the good qualities of  both kolam powder and rice flour , where do I purchase , is it any special type of powder etc.  are some of the doubts in the viewers mind I purchase kola podi from the local vendor only.  In Tamil Nadu you can find street vendors on vehicles selling white rangoli powder It is also available in some shops in areas like Mylapore, West Mambalam and Triplicane.  Of course you can purchase online