Vaishnava kolam

Iyengar kolam and saris auction

I could spend hours contemplating these rhythmic, abstract graphs, brimming with imaginary suggestions. The choreography of the body and the fingers is so interwoven that you quickly forget where the dance graphics begins and ends.

Month of Margazhi

The divine month of Margazhi — part 4

The lesser known Nacciyar Tirumoli is made up of 14 hymns divided into 143 verses. Here, a tearful and anxious Andal addresses her prayers through a fine sand mandala to Manmathan or Kamadeva the god of love, asking him to fulfil her deepest wish: to unite her with Kannan (Krishna).

Month of Margazhi

The divine month of Margazhi — part 3

In 2018, I drew a kolam of Andal as a girl and she remains my favourite image; she walks confident just before she performs the month long pavai nombu (a short-term penance). Thus, I began this 30-day journey with Andal. I would live through her eyes and it was a wholesome spiritual experience.

Month of Margazhi

The divine month of Margazhi — part 2

Today, the living presence of Sri Andal, continues to stimulate the imagination of kolam artists. The ecstatic lines centred on Krishna and his deeds convey with simplicity and depth the passionate quest for enlightenment.

Month of Margazhi

The divine month of Margazhi — part 1

I met a group of women attached to Srinivasa Perumal temple in Mylapore. They belong to the Vaishnava tradition and often gather to create kolam on religious themes. At this time of the year, they have chosen to draw Sri Andal.

Padi kolam/Shaivite kolam

The vaishnava kolam grace the doorsteps of Vaishnavite Iyengar Brahmins, while padi kolam, with their straight lines, reveal that a home belongs to a Shaivite Iyer Brahmin family.

Inspiring kolam artists

Inspiring women "Ramamani Hanasoge"

Ramamani lives in Bangalore and she draws daily in front of her Tulasi pot, stories of Krishna on a granite slab with powders.

Inspiring kolam artists

Inspiring women "Janaki Gopalan"

My immense pleasure as soon as I reach Chennai is to read "The Hindu" newspaper. One year, I came across a few lines mentioning the publication of a kolam book. Next day I went to CP Ramaswami Aiyer Foundation in Alwarpet, bought the book, and contacted right away, the artist Mrs Janaki Gopalan.