Introduction : Significance and importance of Rangoli

Rangoli is derived from the Sanskrut word ‘rangavalli’. Rangoli is an art which precedes sculpture and painting. It is both an auspicious and a preliminary necessity in any religious ritual. It is a custom to draw rangoli at the site of any auspicious religious ritual such as a holy festival, a religious festival, an auspicious function like wedding, ritualistic worship, a vowed religious observance, etc.

The two aims of drawing rangoli are revelation of beauty and the acquisition of auspiciousness. The forms drawn in the rangoli are symbolic. A curved line produces a better effect of beauty than a straight one.

Usually it is women who draw rangoli. They do not require any devices such as a ruler, a thread, a brush, etc. to draw them. They freely move their fingers to create various shapes with ease.
  

What is rangoli made of?

Rangoli is a coarse powder obtained by pounding a cleavable and lustrous mineral (shirgola). In the Konkan region (near Maharashtra and Goa states in India) the husks of rice are burnt and the white ash obtained is used as rangoli.

How is rangoli executed?

A pinch of rangoli powder is taken using the index finger and thumb. As the rangoli is a coarse powder of special soft white stone, it can flow freely when slowly released from the pinch of index finger and thumb.

To make a rangoli on floor, following steps are used –

1.     The surface on which the rangoli is to be drawn is prepared by cleaning it thoroughly. Traditionally, the surface was smeared with cow dung, and after it dried, rangoli was drawn on it at specific locations. In the ancient times it was a practice to daily sweep and sprinkle every doorstep with cow dung and draw rangoli.

2.     A design or auspicious symbols or signs are selected for drawing.

3.     After the selection, the required numbers of points are created on the floor using the rangoli.

4.     Then these points are joined with the appropriate design shapes, lines, curves, etc.

Lastly, colours are filled in the rangoli as per the design recommendations.