I , kolam and Rangolisansdots my blog

I , kolam and Rangolisansdots

Rangolisansdots was born on an auspicious day - 20th of August 2012 .  After giving up my career for bringing up my children and serving my parents-in-law for more than 20 years  , I wanted to do something, achieve something that would satisfy me personally.

 I was exploring various options on the internet and elsewhere when my husband suggested that I start a kolam website.  Frankly I did not even have a gmail or email account till 2012. ( No wonder Google has a project to help women to get online )  So we tried options in my gmail account on Google and found that starting a blog was an option.  So I drew my first kolam and uploaded it on to the blog.  The first two posts were about double kolam.  I have a weakness for double line kolam that I think I will need a post "I kolam and double line kolam designs " also.

  I started uploading kolam photos n my blog rangolisansdots.  This name was also thought of my husband who named the blog Rangolisansdots because it means rangoli without dots and I draw a lot of free hand rangoli designs.

It is common to see many homes in India , draw a kolam or rangoli or muggu at the entrance of the homes to decorate the home , early in the morning after sprinkling water on the entrance . 

 I hope that I spread a rangoli every day at the entrance of my home , I also make my little contribution ( as the squirrel helped Lord Rama in Ramayana , as they say in Tamil Nadu )  and help spread this art also throughout the length and breadth of the country and beyond.

When I started my blog in 2012 , I did not have the idea of having a rangoli video channel on YouTube .  The idea was given by son , first who asked me to upload videos on YouTube also.  I was skeptical because , I did not know how to make a video , taking photos is quite easy . 

 Also I was comfortable in uploading a few rangoli pictures on the blog.   I thought simple rangoli designs can be drawn just by looking at the pictures.  

It was my cousin who is a Professor of Statistics who said that I needed to add steps to the kolam so that people  could  learn.  I thought that the kolam drawn by me  were so simple, why would viewers need steps.  

My son suggested that I open a YouTube channel for kolam to upload kolam videos to show the steps.  The advice given by my cousin and my son helped open a kolam channel on YouTube and the kolam channel Rangolisansdots was also born.

  I uploaded a few slide shows of kolam and kolam with steps.  

I was still not convinced that drawing videos for simple kolam would  be welcomed by viewers.  So it later  that I started uploading kolam videos more regularly and I found that I had to create more and more designs to keep pace with the demand, because viewers response  was overwhelming and Rangolisansdots became more and more popular.

I purchased a small granite slab from a nearby shop so that I could earmark some space for my kolam . 

 It is also because it is easy for me  to clean the slab or erase the kolam  at my convenience  and having a separate space for kolam also ensured it was not an inconvenience to others in the house.

I purchase colours for rangoli from Nagpur .  My elder sister lives in Nagpur and she brings it for me are sends it by courier when  ever I need the rangoli colours.

A simple 7 by 4 rangoli on the granite slab

Though there are quite a few rangoli with dots ,  I have a weakness for free hand rangoli , particularly double  line rangoli , hence the name  Rangolisansdots
Below, a double line kolam with kaavi border I drew at the entrance.

A free hand rangoli with steps .  After drawing the triangle.  Draw three petals from three edges.  Then draw three more petals between any two .  Connect the edges of the petals to get a floral pattern.  Add free hand patterns inside and outside the rangoli

After Diwali decoration when we want find rangoli designs quick and  fast , probably during summer , learning how to make  rangoli may be a useful summer art and craft activity for kids and adults alike.  

This beautiful and simple art is unique because it is a common man ( or shall I say woman , because it invariably drawn by women , though there are some profession men rangoli artists also ) art and every one can draw it once he or she learns how to hold the rangoli powder and control the flow to draw the lines.

About my parents in law ( Contributed by my children )

Just as the mother’s love to her children is unconditional we found that the grandparents love towards the grandchildren is unconditional.  

 Grandfather was a fan of Sou’s (when she was around 9 years  ) poetry and would stop watching his favourite programme (and that was usually a Carnatic music concert ) on television to listen to her reading out her poems.  

The look on his face was as if he was listening to William Wordsworth!Here is a sample from her poem collection

            I wish I were a princess-High up in a tower

                     Or I wish I were a butterfly-Flying over flowers

                     Or I wish I were an astronaut-Floating out in space

                     Or I wish I own a bakery-Baking delicious cakes

                     Or should I be with fairies-Pretending that I am an elf

                     But who I like being best-Is definitely MYSELF.

Sometimes grandfather used to sacrifice his favourite programme even though he had his own television would sit with us and enjoy cartoons especially Tom and Jerry and also discuss with us! Just to give an idea of the knowledge he possessed.

 Once grandfather took a vocabulary test on fifty very difficult words and got 47 out of 50 right! 

 Our grandfather discussed Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, French Revolution, Louis XIV, Louis XVI, Mary Antoinette with us.  

We listened to him very patiently taking care not to offend him. Grandparents are a source of a lot of information on epics like Ramayan and Mahabharat and also mythology which she passed on to all her grandchildren .  

 Every day in the morning they play devotional songs on the music system to wake us up. This also ensured that we listened to these songs and got to know some of the lyrics. 

(Contributed by my children – Sou and Shakthi

(Contributed by my husband) Grandparents role in parenting

  The role of grandparents in bringing up our children need not be emphasised.  Children observe us very keenly even though we may not be aware.  Children learn to adjust – Grandparents have their own routines, their interests and they need their own space. 

Children learn how the value and importance of sacrifice and adjustment even from these small incidents.  As they grow children learn not to intrude into their space. I see that affection and sympathy and unselfish love are now important traits that have been imbibed in my children. 

 When my children faced problems their grandfather would advise them to be brave, fearless and take the problem head on while their grandmother would say that prayer would solve all problems. She also prayed for them.

The benefits of a joint family (of having grandparents – parents or in-laws with you ) are

a)      They are a source of lot of information on history, literature.

b)      They also pass on information on our family, our ancestors, family customs and traditions.

c)       They instil confidence through their words or prayers

d)      They teach children to be patient and to be unselfish or less selfish

e)      Children acquire qualities like sympathy and affection

f)       Serving grandparents is one the best services to the elderly , children can do

g)      Children get to know a different perspective of life.

h)      Stories, songs, lullabies (my mother-in-law sang  lullabies in Tamil,  Marathi, Telugu

to her grandchildren and great-grand-daughter) are “handed over” to the next generation

i)        To sum up they have a wealth of experience in many fields that influence our everyday life

 The popular Aishwarya patra rangoli, I learnt from mother-in-law.  My video on the YouTube channel for this rangoli has been the official video of YouTube  for quite some time.  us festivals.  

Credit to a lot of information on various festivals in Rangoli-sans-dots is to her. I learnt kolam from my mother .  For her  it was muggulu since she was from Vijayanagaram near Vishakappatinam.