South Indian rangoli designs for Diwali

First an 8 by 8 dot rangoli design

                                                                

This is actually inspired by Maharastrian rangoli designs with dots that are usually drawn with a square grid - 8 by 8 dots in this case.  The patterns are also created with straight lines instead of the combination of straight and curved lines we usually find in kolam.  However square grids are also common in kolam and so are designs with only straight lines.

Next is a 8 by 1 dot pattern sangu kolam 

The rangoli above is with 8 to 1 dot pattern .  Though it is common to see such shankh designs the patte the shankh are somerns drawn for creating what different from what I usually draw. The rangoli  below is big - 17 to 1 dot design , however the patterns are very easy to be drawn with some deepam designs.  The rest of the designs are created with lines connecting the dots.  A big but simple and easy rangoli for Vasant Panchami.  The central patterns are influenced by Maharastrian rangoli with dots.

                                                          

This is a 11 to 6 dot kolam I created for Vasant Panchami .  First I started with shankh patterns using 7 by 4 dots .  Since this is very common , I added one more layer of shankh designs and the gaps I filled with lamp patterns.  This can be considered to be part of the traditional kolam variety.

The following images show the step by step procedure for drawing the above design.  This was created by me .  The first set of shankh designs is drawn with 7 by 4 and it is quite common.  Since we need bigger rangolis , occasionally ( I think it depends upon the individual - we can have big or small and compact designs  for festival decoration ) for festivals ,  I added one more layer of shankh designs and for this a 11  to 6 dot pattern is required.  Finally the gaps are  filled with diya patterns.  These designs are usually considered auspicious and associated with festivals.  

The next rangoli kolam is with 15 to 8 dots pattern.  The image after completion looks like this.

At first sight , it looks very complicated and tricky.  However if we follow the images we should be able to draw it easily.  I have tried to make the steps as easy as possible.

First draw the outer lines connecting the dots as shown and the star pattern at the centre

Then the inner most line is connected to the star as shown

The next set of lines are drawn parallel to the first set stopping at the dot outside the star

Unique patterns in rangoli 

This is a simple and unique design.  First I used a 2 by 2 dot grid to get the symmetry.  Then draw plus patterns on the dot.  Then expand the design further as shown in the steps below through the images.  A simple rangoli that will look more beautiful with colours and diyas.

Many a time, there is rain in Tamil Nadu during Deepavali festival season ,  We have monsoon in October, November.  If we are planning to draw a kolam in the courtyard (open ) then it is difficult if rain in there.  This is one of the reasons that some of us pray that rains should not fall on Diwali day.  Compare this with my childhood when I used to pray that it should rain on examination day and that our school should declare a holiday due to inclement weather !!