Kolam by Sudha Balaji

21 flowers to be offered to Lord Ganesha.  We can try to purchase as many as possible and available. I have given the names of some of the flowers that are easily available. Tamil names are given in brackets.  a) Jasmine ( Malli ) b) Oleander (Arali ) c) Night jasmine (parijatham ) d) Spanish Jasmine ( jathi malli ) e) Chrysanthemum (Sevanthi ) f) Arabian Jasmine ( Mullai ) g) Champak ( shenbagam ) h) Screw pine ( thazham poo ) i ) Calotropis( Erukkam poo ) j) Datura ( oomathai poo )  k) Spanish cherry flower ( maghizam ) l) Cassia fistula ( Konrai ) m) Orchid ( mandharai ) n) Thumbe ( Thumbai ) If there is any discrepancy in English names, please let me know

 On 20th of August 2022 , I completed 10 years on social media .  I started sharing rangoli images on Blogger on 20th of August 2012.   My Instagram account - Rangoli sans dots also crossed one lakh followers in the same week.  Obviously it has been possible due to the support and motivation given my viewers.   Initially I started posting rangoli images on my kolam website.  Then I started posting videos on YouTube.   They became so popular that I was invited by YouTube to the inauguration of their first studio in Asia at Mumbai .  That was in 2015.  You may learn more about my journey on social media if you are interested Then I started posting videos on my Facebook Page from 2016 .   Only recently i.e March 2022 I started posting rangoli reels on Instagram.  Many viewers ask why all my Pages are called Rangolisansdots though I post designs with dots also.  Initially I started with kolam without dots.  Once you name a Page on social media it is difficult to change  I am pleasantly sur

 Try this different padi kolam for Sri Krishna Jayanthi.  You have to believe it , I created this instantaneously.  Lotus patterns are most welcome for festivals .  This is where I thought for a while before adding them as shown in the images. Dots , spirals , shading always add more beauty to the kolam .  White rangoli is also beautiful , we can display it without colours as is usually done.  You can also try it for Sankranthi geethala muggulu new designs  These without chukki rangoli drawn mostly with lines are intricate  Old fashioned rangoli designs are among the top rangoli .  We can try once for Diwali , Dhanteras. Decorate with kaavi or draw with wet rice flour for the festival

 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

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 be used as a border for the door way The dot pattern is 5

I have added four  simple traditional rangoli with lines for Aadi Velli kolangal 2023 .  They are easy to draw yet beautiful  Aadi month is auspicious in Tamil Nadu , particularly Tuesday, Friday and Sunday are considered auspicious.   Some of the important days are Aadi Krithigai, Pooram and Aadi Perukku.   So I have shared a traditional rangoli with lines that can be drawn for this month.  As usual decorate with kaavi to make it more beautiful. Using lines and some common patterns  we can create hundreds of patterns . Various combinations can be tried .   The best time to experiment with the floor as the canvas,  is  early in the morning with the melodious Venkatesa Suprabhatham by the great MS Subbulakshmi in the background   Star kolam without dots  Simple kodu kolam Small kodu kolam Step by step images for a padi kolam for the festival  Traditional padi kolam Preferred for Fridays  Deepam decorations for this small padi kolam design