Kolam by Sudha Balaji

  Two kolams similar yet different in the images shown below. The flower design at the centre is the same.  There are some differences in the motifs /patterns use on the periphery.  First rangoli one cement floor D emo of two different simple colouring ideas are also shown.  The second rangoli on cement floor.  Two more sets of kolam ideas, 10 in each post are available in 10 simple rangoli designs and 10 easy muggulu images  Many kolam in Rangoli-sans-dots are drawn without any preparation. Very few finishing touches are given. All are of the 'no frills' type.  The idea is to get an image as one would when she/he draws on the floor. I felt that this method would ensure that the images uploaded are congruous with or closer to our real life.  3rd and 4th rangoli on black floor A plain white version of a colourful design using paisleys.  The smaller patterns are like sting rays says may daughter.  The kolam below uses small and big lotus...

The first two rangoli designs in this collection are images from some of the most popular videos of free hand kolam I shared on YouTube. White kolam versions posted here for our daily vasal kolangal. The first set of 10 rangoli designs Two more sets of kolam images to complete 30 ideas are available at 2nd set of 10 rangoli and 3rd set of ten kolam  Now, this is a post alone offers a big collection of various designs that can be bookmarked for reference.  My request is that we have to draw kolam daily and preserve this tradition Drawing small and intricate patterns with kola podi can increase the combinations we can try in daily kolangal.  Fridays are reserved for double stroke rangolis or padi kolam .  Of course there will be exceptions to the rule. Choosing the right colours is also important.  Most viewers agree with my choice of colours.  Few agree to disagree :)   1) A very beautiful kolam    The first two rangoli designs in this collec...

 Small or big is a relative term, we can consider (up to) 7 dots kolam as small. The first kolam shown in two steps uses 5 by 5 dot pattern. A collection of white rangoli design , chukki rangoli for our daily kolam to adorn the entrance of our homes. We draw big rangoli designs for the kolam festival season i.e Dhanrumasam.  My sisters and I with our mother created big rangoli designs with dots or without (my mother was a specialist in free hand rangoli designs) No wonder, I am greatly influenced by her and share lots of free hand rangoli.  After several requests from viewers, I started sharing chukki rangoli designs also. I think there will be roughly 50% of each type (rangoli without dots and rangoli with dots) in this blog.  5 pulli kolam in two steps  This is a 7 by 7 dot rangoli | chukkala muggu The chukki rangoli in the image below is drawn using 7 by 4 dots There were a few requests for offline or online classes.  I have taken once or twice.  O...

Talking of space, we had a lot of space outside our homes.  The entrance of the house led to the road.  The road was a mud road.  It was difficult to draw on the mud road because the surface was not conducive for drawing kolam and particles would fly too.  That is the reason water mixed with cow dung was sprinkled on the road.   This would bind the loose sand over a period of time.  It would also give a beautiful green and yellow background on which we could draw the white kolam !!. Obviously, all houses did not have cows. Water used to wash rice was stored in houses that did not have cows.  It was bartered for cow dung!!.  The milk maid took the water and gave some cow dung to prepare the surface for kolam .  It was a simple but beautiful life  This kolam is shown in two steps.  Use free hand designs to create small and awesome rangoli.  An example for small nemali muggulu designs or navilu rangoli  This rangoli can ...

Along with the rose , lotus is the most sought after flowers for our rangoli designs.  Hridaya kamalam for example is a lotus design drawn only in the Pooja room.  Lotus is considered to represent Goddess Lakshmi .  This simple 5 dot kolam I created for our daily purpose rangoli that we need for our vasal kolangal.   How to draw lotus kolam | thru step by step images The dot pattern is 5 by 5 and then 1 dot on 4 sides at the centre Drawing the first petal ( front view of a lotus ) Connecting the dots to draw the second and third petal Connecting the dots to draw 4th and 5th petals Draw lotuses on all four sides The gap at the centre filled with floral pattern connecting all the lotuses Lines in the petals to represent a lotus densely packed with petals Further decorations are left to our imagination.  The more the designs ,  more beautiful is the rangoli This idea may also be used for simple thamarai kolam , kama...

I have said earlier and in subsequent posts also that I do not practice what is called Kizhamai kolam or a kolam representing each day of the week.  So I share the simple and small kolam I draw at the entrance.  This is a collection of exclusively white rangoli designs that are drawn on a Wednesday.  Please note the emphasis (not drawn for Wednesday but on a Wednesday implying that I do not practice specific kolam for the different days of a week.   However, for Friday at the entrance I draw a padi kolam or a kolam with or without dots.  For Puja room on Friday, Aishwarya Kolam and Hridaya kamalam are definitely part of Puja room decoration in my house. The first kolam can be drawn with dots and free hand too.  This is with a dot circular dot grid around a central dot.  The central lines can be seen curved around the dots.  The other motifs are extended from there. This is a free hand kolam and can be also drawn with dots.  The ...