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and a few other Asian countries. A kolam or muggu is a geometrical line drawing composed of straight lines, curves and loops, drawn around a grid pattern of dots. It is widely practised by female family members in front of their house entrance, although men and boys also practice this tradition. The
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In the kolam patterns, many designs are derived from magical motifs and abstract designs blended with philosophical and religious motifs which have been mingled together. Motifs may include fish, birds, and other animal images to symbolise the unity of man and beast. The sun, moon and other zodiac
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symbols are also used. A downward-pointing triangle represents woman; an upward-pointing triangle represents man. A circle represents nature while a square represents culture. A lotus represents the womb. A pentagram represents Venus and the five elements.
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powder for contrast are also used. Though kolams are usually made with dry rice flour (kolapodi), for longevity, dilute rice paste or even paints are also used. Modern interpretations have accommodated chalk, and more recently
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is also used to wax the floors. In some cultures, cow dung is believed to have antiseptic properties and hence provides a literal threshold of protection for the home. It also provides contrast with the white powder.
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The ritual kolam patterns created for special occasions such as weddings often stretch down the street. Many of these created patterns have been passed on from generation to generation, from mothers to daughters.
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a pattern using only part of the dot grid. If that is the case, the same pattern or a different pattern fills/uses up the remaining dot grids. Most of the times, these patterns together end up becoming a complex
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would not have to walk too far or too long for a meal. The rice powder also invites birds and other small creatures to eat it. It is a sign of invitation to welcome all into the home, not the least of whom is
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has evolved to mandate that the lines must be completed to symbolically prevent evil spirits from entering the inside of the shapes. Thus, they are prevented from entering the inside of the home.
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as per age-old conventions. It is also drawn using white stone powder, chalk or chalk powder, often along with natural or synthetic color powders. Its origin belongs to the ancient
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The mathematical properties of kolams are studied and replicated in computer science.Algorithms have been developed for generating kolam designs with different patterns.
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It used to be a matter of pride to be able to draw large complicated patterns without lifting the hand off the floor or standing up in between. The month of
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3x3 symmetry 9 goddesses swastika kolam with a single cycle by Nagata S, each of which corresponds to one of the nine Devi (goddesses) of the Vedic system
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in
Kannada in Karnataka. More complex kolams are drawn and colors are often added during festival days, holiday occasions and special events.
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was eagerly awaited by young women, who would then showcase their skills by covering the entire width of the road with one big kolam.
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Decoration is not the main purpose of a kolam. In the olden days, kolams or muggulu were drawn in coarse rice flour so the
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As kolams have a strong relationship with contemporary art and art history, they are used in the art and media fields.
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similar regional versions of kolam with their own distinctive forms are known by different names in India:
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Kolams are also used to simplify the representation of complex protein structures for easy understanding.
344:, which is extremely colourful, a South Indian Kolam is all about symmetry, precision, and complexity.
154:. Since the Tamil diaspora is worldwide, the practice of kolam is found around the world, including in
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Algorithms for drawing kolams are used in the development of picture-drawing computer software.
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Kolams or muggulu are thought to bring prosperity to homes. In millions of households in
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Traditional kolam made with rice flour and kaavi borders for a house function at
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869:. Center for Undergraduate Research, University of Maine. Archived from
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a pattern in which a stroke runs around each dot incompletely, but open.
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kolam made with soaked rice flour or coloured rice for the festival of
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a pattern in which dots are set in a radial arrangement, called
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Though not as flamboyant as its other Indian contemporary,
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South Indian form of drawing on the ground using rice flour
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a pattern which is drawn freestyle and mostly coloured.
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779:"Rangoli Kolam- Designs and Samples of Rangoli Kolam"
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361:('knot' or 'twisted') kolam in front of a house in
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458:Kolams are a topic of research in computational
404:from a snakey line. The stroke has a knot-like (
896:. Northampton Community College. Archived from
847:. Mathematics department, Iowa State University
700:. Trichy, India. 7 January 2010. Archived from
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670:"Traditional customs and practices - Kolams"
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555:Kolam in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu
318:White stones used to make one type of kolam
126:and has since spread to the other southern
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543:Kolam outside a house in Tamil Nadu, India
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739:"Pongal festival - Kolam design ideas"
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818:. American Scientist. Archived from
531:Kolam at Andayil Temple, Pudunagaram
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717:"Kolam-South Indian kolam patterns"
146:. It can be found in some parts of
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892:Adam Atkinson (September 2011).
719:. Chennai Mathematical Institute
624:. Chennai Mathematical Institute
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288:Text messages like the word
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760:"Between the Rangoli lines"
646:. Auroville. Archived from
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971:Culture of Andhra Pradesh
745:. India. 12 January 2012.
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478:Kollur Mookambika Temple
302:) or a seasonal phrase,
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894:"The Mystery of Kolam"
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476:Kolam, being drawn at
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322:For special occasions
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976:Culture of Tamil Nadu
816:"The Kolam tradition"
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942:at Wikimedia Commons
822:on 30 September 2015
966:Indian sandpainting
867:"The Kolam project"
766:. 29 November 2009.
715:Dr.Gift Siromoney.
704:on 10 January 2010.
650:on 30 December 2011
620:Dr.Gift Siromoney.
365:during housewarming
211:Practice and belief
195:in West Bengal and
900:on 13 October 2012
777:Gamadia, Roweena.
516:Pongal kolam from
501:Coloured kolam in
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938:Media related to
764:Devdutt Pattanaik
672:. Indian Heritage
78:), also known as
27:Tamil Nadu, India
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814:(January 2002).
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842:"Kolam figures"
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789:on 15 July 2014
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626:. Retrieved
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601:Sand drawing
590:Sand mandala
480:by a devotee
460:anthropology
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410:) structure.
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241:బియ్యం పిండి
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36:Traditional
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743:India Today
580:Kuberakolam
570:Jhoti chita
152:Maharashtra
42:Thai Pongal
950:Categories
904:25 January
877:25 January
851:25 January
826:25 January
723:13 January
676:13 January
654:12 January
628:12 January
607:References
575:Kalampattu
363:Tamil Nadu
225:Tamil Nadu
130:states of
120:Tamil Nadu
116:rice flour
697:The Hindu
324:limestone
274:Margasira
239:/Telugu:
229:Telangana
178:raangolee
168:Indonesia
160:Singapore
156:Sri Lanka
136:Telangana
132:Karnataka
124:Tamilakam
122:known as
64:Malayalam
46:Singapore
644:"Kolams"
599:Vanuatu
564:See also
447:Research
414:pattern.
348:Patterns
326:and red
310:Variants
292:(Tamil:
262:Folklore
245:cow dung
172:Thailand
164:Malaysia
38:Agrahara
622:"KOLAM"
585:Rangoli
485:Gallery
341:rangoli
299:స్వాగతం
294:நல்வரவு
290:welcome
270:Mārgaḻi
258:Lakshmi
237:கோலமாவு
204:rangole
189:Mithila
108:Kannada
104:Rangoli
72:Kannada
193:alpona
184:aripan
144:Kerala
142:, and
128:Indian
112:ರಂಗೋಲೆ
102:) and
88:ముగ్గు
84:Telugu
76:ರಂಗೋಲೆ
940:Kolam
845:(PDF)
503:Attur
437:lotus
429:kotto
407:sikku
395:pulli
390:Tamil
385:sikku
379:kambi
358:Sikku
328:brick
96:Tamil
80:Muggu
60:கோலம்
56:Tamil
52:Kolam
906:2012
879:2012
853:2012
828:2012
795:2014
725:2012
678:2012
656:2012
630:2012
423:kodu
401:neli
373:neli
253:ants
231:and
201:and
198:hase
150:and
68:കോലം
388:in
187:in
148:Goa
90:),
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803:^
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