Margazhi kolam collection
Colourful free hand Margazhi kolam for 2012
The next important season after Diwali season for rangolis is of course Margazhi (aka Dhanur masam).
It is natural that Rangoli-sans-dots has a few kolangal for this season.
It is during this month that we see some of the most beautiful rangolis drawn at the entrance or on the streets
(particularly in Tamil Nadu)
with most of passers-by having a look at those drawn. They may cast a glance or assess them, look in amazement or in awe.
Some stand there for some time trying to learn the method of drawing those rangolis by looking at them.
It is common to see ladies standing near a rangoli discussing the dots patterns used or method to be followed for free hand kolams.
What needs to be factored in is the climate that is relatively cold and some times misty in the early morning.
This does not deter the ladies nor does it dampen their enthusiasm for 30 days in the month of Margazhi.
Some draw alone, some with their daughters ( this is one of the methods through which this art is passed on from generation to generation),
some with their relatives and others in groups with their neighbours or acquaintances.
During this month, it is normal to hear devotional songs being played from places nearby as early as 4.00 am or people in groups going around the streets performing bhajans,.
As young girls we used discuss the rangoli to be drawn in the morning, the previous night itself but kept it as a secret
so that we could surprise all with our design ( or so we thought!).
Many a time our mother vetoed us and she decided what was to be drawn. We sisters obeyed silently and helped in completing the rangoli.
As the youngest, I was usually given the task of filling up the colours which I did with religious fervour.
If it was a kolam with dots, the dots were placed by my mother because our dots were never in a straight line!
After finishing the rangoli we went to the temple nearby to pray.
Definitely an important time of the year for ladies to showcase their talents in drawing kolam in competitions that are held during or after Margazhi in Tamil Nadu .
Space was not a constraint , few decades back . The entrance of homes led to the mud road. Obviously drawing on this surface is not easy. The loose particles that fly make it difficult to draw kolam.
Water mixed with cow dung was sprinkled on the area near the entrance. This will help bind the muddy road.
The beautiful green and yellow surfaces that we can see even now in villages is the result of this process.
Of course not all houses had cows and supply of cow dung was ensured by the milk maid .
She did not give free of cost . She exchanged it for water used to wash rice that was stored carefully for the barter !!.
Simple life but wonderful and contented :) :)
Margazhi kolam | Dhanurmasam muggulu | Sankranti rangoli ( மார்கழி கோலங்கள் )
I have shared different types of kolam here, however I invariably draw double line or double stroke rangoli during this season. An advantage is that it is easy to add colours.
We have to add colours only in the gaps.
The two images below show how the muggu develops into a beautiful design. They will also give us an idea as to how to proceed with this simple muggu.
The central design with four triangles has curved lines originating from the centre of the base of the triangle.
All the lines originating from the base are connected and using brown colour muggu powder add parallel lines
The muggu is further expanded with motifs or patterns on all four sides as also the gaps that are left.
Designs with white rmuggu powder and the leaf or petal like designs filled with red or orange colour enhance the image (!) of the muggu design. Add green colour lines as shown and yellow patterns to complete the muggu pattern
This is a simple design but really very attractive when filled with colours and more beautiful when filled with the right colours. I have used a colour combination that I think of mostly spontaneously.
There must be better colour combinations. Probably you can try out your own to get a more beautiful design. After all, there is no limit for our imagination.
These designs and posts are only to give ideas, one can apply her imagination to get a better design and more colourful one.
After some parallel line kolam, the image above is a different design I tried with just one colour added to a plain rangoli so that it looks some what like a double stroke kolam
First draw the central hexagon pattern. From the deges draw floral petals and between the edges draw the motifs as shown.
Finally add some curved lines above the motifs. Using just one colour, blue draw the patterns inside the rangoli drawn with white powder.
Also add blue and white dots as shown. The result is a different type of rangoli image, as shown above.
It is easy to complete these types because the entire rangoli is not filled with colours. It is possible to draw kolam with parallel lines using two different colours also.
I have uploaded a video showing the method to draw a kolam using two different colours. The same procedure for holding the powder on the fingers is to be followed for any design using kolam powder.
Only thing to be noted is that it is easier to draw with a single colour than with two colours.
So first try with one colour or white. After achieving some level of proficiency with one colour we can try using two colours.
When ever my kolam podi, colour kolapodi that is depletes I have to make necessary arrangements. I opt for drawing parallel lines kolam so that instead of filling up the designs or the gaps I have to add only colourful iines. After all, necessity is the mother of all inventions - this is not an invention in the literal sense, only an adaptation to the situation.
It is a free hand kolam - a bird design. The bird kolam is drawn and inside it we have some decorative patterns with the influence of mehandi designs.
Outside there is a simple curved double line border with patterns inside and outside. Unlike the mehandi designs I have drawn with rangoli powder so far this one I have used blue and orange colours in addition to white.
Poovidal or Pookolam is a type of rangoli drawn in Kerala during the Onam festival celebrations. As the name suggests it is an arrangement of flowers to obtain a beautiful design.
The fragrance of the flowers only helps augment the ambiance. It is an important contribution by India to the collage of arts and crafts of the world. I should try some in Rangoli-sans-dots in future.
Rangoli-sans-dots is kolam without dots so what ever free hand designs are possible I would like to attempt and try to incorporate here.
Some more rangoli aka kolam with mehndi designs using some common motifs like paisleys
Draw the pattern at the bottom, fill with intersecting white lines, then draw the upper pattern including some floral patterns.
Fill the remaining areas with some patterns according to your imagination. Next a simple kolam made beautiful by filling with colours for Sankranti
The kolam below is a simple design. The central square is drawn and on all four sides motifs similar to bunches of grapes are drawn. Floral designs all similar are drawn on the four edges and in between to get the image.
Colours have been added in the following method, the first row along the perimeter of the square has pink colour, the second one green and so on instead of using a single colour.
Usually, I fill the central portion with some free hand designs. So this image has some simple patterns in the square at the centre.
Also decorating the "patterns on all sides of the square with white rangoli powder I think makes a fantastic change on the appearance of the kolam. The three steps shown above give us options to stop the kolam at that stage if required.
One can compare all the four and decide what she wants.
More colourful kolam free hand for Markali season - the season of kolam designs till Pongal
2 stroke kolam with colours and without colours , of course without chukki
The next kolam above has also been drawn ith double lines or parallel lines. The basic central design is a rhombus with four chakras at the edges.
From here the rangoli is again expanded to get the design in the image. Of course simple rangoli borders and some floral motifs have been added.
Like in the previous rangoli, the four corners have some designs, in this case lotuses. The black and white images show the kolam in its initial step
The image above shows how - they have been added though it is a simple design with the same spiral patterns repeating through out. Draw the square at the centre, fill up with a colour of your choice.
This is how the completed rangoli below would look in the beginning when we start drawing it. Draw the parallel and intersecting (oxymoron !) lines at the centre and connect them with petal like patterns as shown.
The kolam above is a beautiful floral design for Margazhi. The entire kolam has been drawn with parallel lines drawn simultaneously. The basic floral design with many petals has been evolved with floral designs and other motifs as shown above.
Finally a simple rangoli border has been drawn around the rangoli with some gaps to make it more attractive. Not stopping at this stage another rangoli border on the four corners has been added to this rangoli. Filling colours is relatively, easy as the entire rangoli is not filled.
Only in some areas inside the designs parallel lines are drawn. The effect of using white and pink dots in the rangoli has given a different effect. Usually I fill all the gaps with kolam powder that takes quite a long time.
Simple and different free hand kolam for New Year
How to draw this simple kolam ?
Then draw small spirals along the perimeter of the square, one row at a time.
Begin with 5, 6 or more spiral patterns depending upon the size of square and gradually reduce it to one.
It is a very simple free hand kolam design, can be done in very little time but will be beautiful and attractive to look at even without addition of colours. Hope you enjoy drawing it!
The same kolam with some more decorations added between the arms. All free hand designs only. Actually this is some what like a traditional kolam, only difference is that those are drawn with straight lines and curves whereas this one is drawn with spiral patterns.
One needs a lot of patience to draw the spiral designs to see that all are as far as possible of the same size otherwise the entire design goes haywire!
kolam for Margazhi a different idea.
This free hand kolam is drawn using the following method. As usual draw the design with rhombus at the centre.
From the edges of the rhombus develop the rangoli with curves on the edges and semicircular patterns linked to each other as shown in the figure.
Bunches of grapes are drawn on the outer portion of the design along the sides of the rhombus and the birds are drawn along the edges of the rhombus. Fill the grapes with purple colours and the birds with pink colours.
Fill the central rangoli with colours of your choice and decorate it as you please to get the final rangoli. Depiction of birds, fruits and other designs is made as simple as possible in kolam / rangoli.
The kolam above is a free hand rangoli for rangoli seasons like Margazhi and Diwali.
Please notice the difference in shading between this and the other kolams at the centre using light and dark purple hues. On the periphery, I have drawn birds up to the neck. (not the idiom!)
The method is as follows. First draw the central design with four intersecting lines and connect the intersecting lines with two inclined lines each to get the basic central shape.
Develop the kolam to form a floral design around it. Along the periphery of the flower draw eight birds upto the neck, simple designs drawn with hand.
Fill the kolam with different colours. Use two shades of light and dark violet or purple to get the effect at the centre. Use white kolam powder to decorate the centre and to give an appearance that each bird is carrying a fruit. A different type of free hand kolam design with birds.
Though not as colourful as the birds found in nature it is a simple rangoli that an individual can try, practise and draw and that is the aim or Rangoli-sans-dots - to give ideas for simple rangoli designs that can be drawn by an individual.
Usually the very big designs that are seen in public functions are drawn by two or more people. Even drawing this simple design and filling the colours may take 15 30 minutes.
So far as this kolam is concerned start with a square (pink ) at the centre. Using each side draw the bird designs so that the body of the bird comes inside the square as shown.
This portion will be pink in colour and can be erased by filling with colours blue, green, red to get the complete the bird design.
kolam with rose buds.
Another freehand kolam design the latest variety in kolam designs. This rangoli was stopped at this level due to constraints in space in the place where I usually draw. Start with a hexagon at the centre (it is not a regular hexagon i.e all sides are not equal) and expand from there.
The periphery is adorned with rose buds (I have used purple hue to match the other colours but still they are rose buds !). Between the rose buds and the hexagon the rangoli design is obtained using the patterns shown above.
Then fill with colours to delineate as shown. I have used green colour to fill the gaps in the rangoli. It can be treated as completed even without this because it takes around 15 minutes to do this. This kolam will take a minimum of 45 minutes to complete but it is worth it.
Finally the patterns with white rangoli are formed. The images in black and white show the steps to draw this beautiful kolam that can be drawn as Diwali rangoli also because this is also the time when we have colourful rangoli designs with bridght colours.
A beautiful small kolam without dots with colour using rose buds
As we all know, sky is the limit for drawing free hand kolam, we can keep expanding them if we did not have constraints of time and space and of course patience.
Thekolam shown (above) with flower buds, I had actually drawn for Margazhi, but then I thought a dozen free hand rangoli would suffice for Margazhi and hence did not post this intially. So here it is
Isn't it a colourful kolam for a special occasion like a special kolam for Margazhi? The kolam - the basic central floral pattern is drawn and the gaps are filled with rose buds. The entire arrangement is decorated with a simple border with some designs radiating outwards.
The gaps are filled with grey and light orange colours and buds are filled with different colours to get the final design.
Decorations with blue rangoli powder have also been made to enhance the effect.The next one above on the left, freehand kolam - somewhat colourful like the colours of Holi !
These two rangoli designs above can be used decorate our homes for festivals like Janmashtami (or Krishna Jayanthi) and Deepavali, Navratri to give am awesome and grand look. .
As usual draw the central floral pattern and expand along the edges with designs of your choice to get the final image.
The flower is decorated with designs between the petals as shown and above each designs with straight lines of white, pink and blue colours are drawn to match the colours of the central flower.
Two intermediate steps of this rangoli in the images below.The two rangoli designs above can also be used for poo kolam design drawn for Onam.
Small kolam for Margazhi
The rangoli / kolam, has a central floral design. The petals are further decorated with leaf like patterns an surrounded with a simple border. the border are filled with colours as shown.
The central flower after filling it with green colour has one more simple pattern drawn with white rangoli . This kolam design was will take 10 minutes to complete.
Colourful simple kolam for Margazhi
The kolam is probably among the first free hand designs I have drawn in Rangoli-sans-dots with a generous use of colours.
I thought it would be an apt design if one wanted a colourful but simple free hand kolam for Margazhi and so I shifted it here from its original place.
Draw the basic design with straight and intersecting lines to get the geometric patterns. Along this draw a border with straight lines. The edges of the rangoli are decorated with leaves.
Fill the rangoli with colours and also with orange lines. Add some more colourful patterns inside with pink colours and rhombuses on the outside.
The kolam above is an intricate free hand design drawn first with white rangoli powder.
The circle at the centre has seven arms of odd shapes. The gaps between the arms are filled with simple borders with two lines. The rangoli is filled with different colours. The gaps are filled with green colour.
Finally the rangoli is decorated inside and on the periphery with white colour. A beautiful rangoli for the festival season. Some of these designs may be suitable for those who want simple kolam but intricate one for Margazhi.
The kolam in the image is also a free hand kolam with two types of motifs used on the edges of the central design and between them.
Fill with bright colours, as such colours are associated with Diwali. The patterns used are rhombus and paisley types. The bright colours give an enhanced effect though it is a very simple kolam. Choosing the right colours also matters.
A combination like pink, red and blue add to it pink made a design attractive even if it is simple. Ultimately beauty and awesomeness are more important in rangoli designs whether it is simple or intricate.
Rangoli stencil available in the market has been used to get the central design.
Place the stencil on the floor and using white powder fill up the stencil to get the central design. After removing the stencil draw a free hand border with two parallel lines drawn simultaneously.
Around the border add four parallel line motifs on the sides and in the gaps - different patterns for sides and the gaps - are drawn. The kolam can be stopped this step.
However I wanted to improve on it but make it simple. So I added I used just one colour, green to get the design at the top.
The green colour lines are added as shown between the white lines or parallel to the white lines. They are also added to the central stencil design. One more combination of stencil and kolam is ready. A simple but different type of design.
The patterns chosen for the free hand part of the kolam should as far as possible match the design
taken from the stencil There are 12 kolam below for Margazhi.2012 I liked kolam 9, 7, 5 and 4 and 3. Hope you like all of them!!
Simple muggulu/ rangavalli with bright colours for Sankranthi
Around the same time when Pongal is celebrated Sankranthi is also celebrated both festivals are famous for kolam or muggulu or rangavalli as we say in Telugu. So some colourful rangoli / muggulu designs for the Margazhi kolam / muggulu
After a rangoli with different shades of green, this one with bright colours. The rangoli above in a s flower rangoli for the festival season.
Draw the central flower pattern first with eight petals. On the edge of each petals draw motifs of your choice and fill the motifs also with any further designs as shown.
Fill the central flower with bright colours like pink and the outer designs with red and other colours as shown.
The remaining gaps are filled with yellow. Make some simple decorations with white and red rangoli powder to get the final design. After completion the rangoli or rangavalli or muggu aka kolam ( what ever the name ) will be very attractive.
I understand that rangavalli is the name given to rangoli in classical Telugu
hough names differ they are all essentially the same, beautiful and colourful designs drawn on the floor, daily and definitely during festival seasons like Diwali, Navratri and Sankranti (in Andhra Pradesh ) and Pongal in Tamil Nadu.
The rose smells as sweet even if it is called by any other name.
So also rangoli designs or rangavalli are all beautiful to see, to draw, to admire.
This is the first rangavalli in this series. It is also a floral design. Draw the flower with orange petals (of course plain rangoli first) as the base.
Fill with orange colour. Using white rangoli powder draw a simple rangoli border. Inside the flower make more designs and fill with blue, pink and green colours.
Finally draw white lines straight and curved, inside to get the design in the image shown above. The first one took some time to complete.
I had to fill it with colours of different shades. Anyway it was worth it. The second is not the usual top view but a side view
. (I can not claim to be a professional photographer by any stretch of imagination as you would have observed). The image on the left free hand rangoli without colours in white for practising as an activity.
The next rangavalli in the image above, is a free hand rangoli design. Actually it is an improvement of a rangoli design drawn elsewhere. The rangoli is a very simple floral design however filling up with the various colours takes some time.
This rangoli has the patterns in white rangoli powder inside and on the border (with lines and dots ) added to get this image. In case you want to view this rangoli in the previous stage it is available in muggulu designs.
Simple free hand kolam for Margazhi
The next rangoli in this series , a floral design with leaves. I consider it to be a special design because I have used only green of different shades to give an awesome look to a simple rangoli design.
The central design is drawn with circles surrounded by a single line border.
Now add leaves of two different shapes on the outside. Complete the kolam with flower petals. Decorate it further with simple motifs or patterns.
I have used only two different shades of green to get the effect as in the image above. Since it is a near circular pattern Adding petals of different colours this rangoli can be used for a flower decoration drawn for Onam.
The next two kolami drawn for Margazhi in the photos above. It is a free hand design. First kolam - Though it appears to be a simple design it may be confusing as to where to start and how to complete. Draw the central rhombus and petals and other patterns around it.
Adding patterns of white and blue on the top is also easy. Joining the remaining red patterns to complete the kolam.
Second kolam - draw a simple free hand kolam as shown in the photo, filling up the entire kolam and the background takes time makes it a suitable choice for a simple colourful kolam for Margazhi.
Hence dark and light pink, blue and yellow colours have been used in the kolam design with a central floral petal design below. A simple but attractive design. Draw the floral design of the kolam at the centre with the eight pink petals. Draw the contours in white in two layers.
Fill it with pink. Between the petals add the patterns in green and red. The gaps between the kolam centre and the border is filled with blue and pink patterns. Finally place white dots on the pink petal designs.
Probably it signifies the uncertainty of the life of a rangoli or kolam - I did not have any such idea in mind when I drew it ! I just drew it ). Between the leaves are the patterns in pink that are decorated with white rangoli powder.
The centre has two shades of blue Different shades of blue at the centre and green on the motifs at the edges have given an awesome effect! I think.
In the kolam below, designs are simple ones that can been drawn with dots or free hand. Seven such
kolangal are drawn surrounded by a kolam border drawn using leaves.
The gaps are filled with kolam powder and that is time consuming.! Pink has been used for the central design nd red for the outer ones.
The kolam design with two pairs of intersecting lines that are connected with floral petals on the eight edges is a common and simple kolam, free hand design.
I have used them around a central kolam. Instead of a border I have used leaf patterns for the border.
This is another free hand kolam.
The kollam on the left is a simple free hand kolam design. After drawing the basic kolam with white kolam powder, I have used a type of green and yellow colours to complete the kolam with floral motifs, spiral patterns.
This is another free hand kolam. Observe it closely to find four fish facing each other in this design. The gaps between the fish are filled with designs of our choice. Two shades of green and pink colours have been used for filling. How to draw it ?
Draw the four borders around the fish first and connect them with patterns as shown in red and white. Draw the fish kolam designs on the four sides facing the centre with white kolam powder.
Fill the gaps with pink and two shades of green. Filling the inside with dark green and the outside with light green gives a better effect than doing it the other way. Decorate the fish patterns with some colours.
Some of the most colourful, most beautifully colourful animals are seen under the sea. In fact there is more colour under the sea than on land, I think. What I have drawn is no comparison to what is found in nature.
 |
The kolam on the top is a very simple design. It has filled with used rangoli powder that I carefully preserve.
The design has been completed with green colour to make it more beautfiful. I have drawn quite a few kolam designs using the kolam powder mixture from an erased kolam.
Almost all of them have been drawn with white kolam powder. For Margazhi season I wanted to try something different in kolam, yet simple. The result the kolam design below.
The kolam powder mixture is of greyish pink colour I have drawn simple patterns that are leaf designs in and around a basic geometric shape and have the edges have been finished with light green colour to give this beautiful and awesome effect. ( I think ).
One image at the white kolam step showing the steps for drawing this rather simple kolam made impressive by adding colours and colourful lines. This may be used as a margazhi kolam small design.
A simple but attractive design. Though initially it may appear to be complicated it is a very easy design to draw. As usual a rhombus at the centre ( looks like I depend on rhombus and floral patterns a lot for the central design ).
On the four sides the floral patterns with two petals connecting the side with a sepal are drawn. A somewhat similar design is repeated on the edges. The periphery is decorated with spiral patterns, straight lines and dots in white and yellow.
The green, yellow and white combination - in a free hand kolam - an awesome idea. Yes? The design above (right ) is drawn using kolam powder used in the kolam below. When kolam drawn is erased or removed ( of course with a heavy heart ) the resultant mixture is of the colour shown above.
Re-arrange the mixture to get a design of your choice. Then make some simple decorations with white kolam powder and the result is the design shown above. It is a combination of four birds and spiral patterns at the centre.
In case you are looking for some special kolam for Margazhi we can choose some of these colourful kolam
The free hand kolam above is a lotus design with four lotus and four lotus buds pointing towards a simple floral design at the centre. The rangoli design is covered with a simple rangoli border. The gaps between the flowers is filled with blue rangoli powder to complete the design.
 |
Lotus designs are considered auspicious as stated some where else in Rangoli-sans-dots hence the kolamdesign below would be suitable for festivals like Navaratri, Varalakshmi Pooja and Raksha Bandhan.
The different shades of pink for the lotus add to the awesomeness of the kolam design.
Start with two inverted triangles to form a star like design. From the edges add more triangles and other geometric patterns
. Complete it with white and pink designs on the outside. The colours chosen for the inside of the kolam - shades of yellow and blue and red for the triangles give a beautiful effect to the kolam design.
A simple kolam, still two intermediate steps in black and white kolam pictures. Actually I drew the kolam video much later in my Channel Rangolisansdots. I have taken these thumb nail pictures from the video.
The third kolam design in this series for Margazhi. A simple kolam design at the centre filled with orange and green colours. Floral designs (lotus-like) are drawn on the four sides with lotus or floral buds.
The second kolam in this series. The rangoli has layers of flower designs starting from the centre to the periphery.
The first kolam for Margazhi season. A simple design with four motifs about a central design with four leaf
like motifs in the gaps. After filling the kolam with colours I have used white and blue colours at the centre to make it more attractive. Pink and white colours have been used in the outer designs .
The kolam above has some geometric patterns resulting in a eight edges that are decorated with some motifs or designs. The final image after applying colours .
The two images in black and white show two stages of this simple rangoli that becomes more beautiful when colours are added.
Though any design that is left plain and white is beautiful. If you compare this design and the previous one the central patterns are somewhat similar.
 |
| 3 |
Filling up with rangoli powder of different colours as in this kolam takes a lot of time. I have used some motifs that I regularly use for kolam designs. A Margazhi kolam that competes with few others in this collection.
Free hand kolam for Margazhi
The second kolam in this series. The rangoli has layers of flower designs starting from the centre to the periphery.
I have added purple and blue hues to get an altogether different appearance. Finally with white rangoli powder the central simple design has been drawn. Start with the curved lines with curlicues at the centre.
Expand the kolam around this design with pink, green and shades of violet. Fill the centre with blue.
The decorations after completing filling up of colours that has been done with green , pink and white colours make it appear different from other designs that are left without these additions.
Among the popular arts in India, mehendi needs a special mention. It has been there for centuries. A few decades back, leaves of the henna plant were plucked and made into a paste and applied on the palms and feet.
Rangoli-sans-dots would like to share a few kolam designs for Margazhi 2012. (Margazhi is the name of a month in Tamil Nadu, India ) To make it clear once more Rangoli ( an art drawn on the floor in India ) is called kolam in Tamil Nadu.
Now that Karthigai Deepam is over next important season for rangolis is the Tamil month of Margazhi. During this month it is customary to draw a kolam every day at dawn in Tamil Nadu culminating with grand kolams on the last day of Margazhi and the first day of Thai (Tamil month).
Maargazhi matham or Margazhi maasam as we say colloquially is famous for kolam display and kolam / rangoli competitions that are held in many cities and towns in Tamil Nadu.
These colourful kolam can be accommodated where space is short . So most are short free hand kolam designs though theoretically free hand rangoli or kolam can be expanded upto infinity !
More rangolis for margazhi are in the previous post -margazhi season and rangoli. and in my YouTube channel Rangolisansdots
During Margali masam there is a tradition of placing parangi poo ( yellow pumpkin flower ) at the centre of the kolam.
A fresh cow dung ball is placed at the centre on which this flower is placed. Then four more cow dung ball are placed around this.
These are made in a varati along with flower and stored to be used for heating water for Ratha Sapthami . Every day a varati ( cow dung cake used as fuel for heating ) is obtained
The rangoli on the right can be drawn with 11 dots to 1 dot pattern.
Now, commercial mehendi cones are available and intricate patterns are drawn on the hands using them.
In a wedding, it is common to see mehendi decorations on the bride's hands. Her friends and relatives also join the wedding celebrations by applying mehandi decorations on their hands. It is called henna-tattoo in the West.
In this post I have uploaded many freehand kolam for margali ( I updated this post with many more kolam designs from my collection for Margali maadham ) . I have tried to see that all kolam are unique as humanly possible.
Like Diwali this season is also one of my favourites. In Tamil Nadu the entire month (December 15 - January 15) is celebrated with joy as described earlier in Rangoli-sans-dots.
The New Year is also celebrated in different parts of the world including India. Christmas is also celebrated in many parts of the world during this period.
At the end of margazhi you have Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Makara Sankranti in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka
.The transition of the Sun to the sun sign Capricorn is celebrated as Makara Sankranti. Overall it is time for celebrations and to forget our worries and troubles for some time.
I have tried various designs and patterns in the kolam with colours sprayed on many of them, two are simple and have tried with just one or two colours.
As usual, they have geometric patterns, flowers (lotus, buds) , animals (fish) and a few symmetrical designs. Probably, the kolam with geometric patterns have some influence of mandalas (literally a circle or cycle). I think that some rangoli / kolam (when viewed from the top) represent simple mandalas.
While the above kolams are for Margazhi and festivals like Navaratri in South India, in the northern part of India one can find such rangoli during Holi and Diwali.
It is a season for drawing rangoli designs in Tamil Nadu like Diwali in other parts of India. Kolam or rangoli designs are drawn throughout the Tamil month of Margazhi usually starting on 15 or 16th of December and ending on 15 or 16th of January when the harvest festival is celebrated.
It is a joyous time for celebration - because it is spring time, people buy new clothes and make sweet dishes (Pongal ) with fresh harvest. Of course one must not forget sugar cane that is an important part of these celebrations.
Now that Karthigai Deepam is over next important season for rangolis is the Tamil month of Margazhi. During this month it is customary to draw a kolam every day at dawn in Tamil Nadu culminating with grand kolams on the last day of Margazhi and the first day of Thai (Tamil month).
The atmosphere in streets at dawn has already been described I hope that this season is celebrated with the same festival fervour in many other parts of India also.
The rangoli in Rangoli-sans-dots a small offering to the thousands of ladies who wake up before dawn to draw the beautiful Margazhi kolam.
The mixture of kola podi (powder ) used for the kolam designs drawn so far has been preserved by me. The result looks like a falooda ice-cream. I do not want to waste it. So I l use it in some designs and to check the effect.
(Update: I would like to upload colourful free hand rangoli for Holi and Diwali 2013!)
Please try to identify where I use the mixture for getting colour kola podi kolam.
This post has Colourful kolam also for Deepavali / Tamil New Year/Navratri
latest kolam updates for Margazhi 2014
Maargazhi matham or Margazhi maasam as we say colloquially is famous for kolam display and kolam / rangoli competitions that are held in many cities and towns in Tamil Nadu.
These colourful kolam can be accommodated where space is short . So most are short free hand kolam designs though theoretically free hand rangoli or kolam can be expanded upto infinity !
After Margazhi comes Pongal or Sankranthi in Telugu. Navratri is also an important festival for decoration with muggu / rangoli.