The colorful kolam is an ephemeral art form that adorns the doorways and thresholds of buildings throughout South Asia.
A kolam, or கோலம், is a drawing made on the floor traditionally using rice flour, although other powders and substances may be used to create a variety of colors and textures. It is believed to have its origins in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and has evolved into different iterations as it spread throughout India, Sri Lanka, and beyond. Although actual references to kolam in writings are only a few hundred years old, the art of such floor drawings is believed to have existed from ancient times.
Traditionally, the drawing of the kolam was a daily act undertaken by the women of the household. The designs were intended to entice gods, such as Lakshmi, into the home, and to drive away evil spirits through closed patterns which, by not allowing entrance of the evil spirits into the pattern, also symbolically kept them out of the home. Edible grains were used in order to feed the ants and birds, and thus welcome their presence. They were also drawn for their aesthetic value at the entrance to the home. Because they were floor drawings made with powders, they were intended to be dispersed by nature and the footsteps of passersby, and thus were recreated, but never exactly repeated, the next day.
The ground is prepared for the kolam by the sprinkling of water usually combined with cow dung. Some rice flour or powder is taken in the hand and spread in the desired pattern by distributing it through the pinched-together thumb and forefinger, thus controlling the thickness of the lines and their evenness throughout the pattern. A skilled artist may be able to draw an intricate kolam pattern without lifting the hand off the floor.
One of the aspects that sets the kolam apart from other similar floor art forms, such as the rangoli, is its emphasis on geometric shapes and forms, as opposed to a more free-flowing pattern. It is usually built around patterns of dots and connecting lines, and can include certain motifs depending on the occasion for which it is being made.
Nowadays, the creation of kolam has become less of a daily event and more of a luxury for special occasions, due to both time constraints and the limitations of urban life. There are even commercially available stencils to allow for easier creation, as well as stickers to replace the kolam completely.