rangoli

Rangoli is Indian folk art that captured me. These are decorative designs made on earth floor outside homes, and indside living rooms and courtyards during Hindu festivals and are meant as sacred welcoming areas for the Hindu deities. The ancient symbols have been passed on through the ages, from each generation to the next, keeping both the art form and the tradition alive. The patterns are  created with materials, including colored rice, dry flour, sand or even flower petals.  I talked to women (doing them eeeeearly morning, and they'd get stepped on during the day and fade) and they told me different ones are made for newly weds, or for special birthdays in the family.  Interestingly when we went to our next village, Puttaparthi, and the designs were on concrete instead of earth, they didn't look nearly so captivating.  I think they could be beautiful embroidery or quilting designs.