SSMTB Rangavallika

Rangoli is very much an ‘art of the moment’, much like sand sculptures or street paintings. Its transient nature means it is dynamic, much like life, and culture.

Generally, traditional rangoli designs tend to be geometric and proportioned, though this has changed over time and newer themes and variations are being explored. Rangolis can be of any size, from the size of a doormat, to the size of an entire room.


Diwali

Diwali is the most lavish Hindu festival, occurring in October or November at the close of the rainy season, observed to propitiate the Lakshmi, goddess of plenty, luck and prosperity. Women create rangoli patterns that invoke Lakshmi to manifest in their domestic space, securing her blessings and abundance in all walks of life. During Diwali, women create rangoli in every corner of the dwelling space, with multiple auspicious designs. Hexagons and six pointed stars, and six petaled lotuses are particularly used for Diwali to honour Goddess Lakshmi.In north Bihar, Lakshmi's feet are drawn at the door, the toes pointing inwards to indicate her entrance.

Stencils for rangoli:

There are also plastic and metal trays, stencils or templates, sieve like trays with different rangoli designs on them to create instant rangolis; these have tiny holes along the pattern outline, so that when the rangoli powder is spread over the pattern, only the rangoli pattern gets transferred on to the floor instantly and neatly.

the plastic sieve is placed on the floor and the coloured rangoli powder is sprayed over it and gently dabbed down with the fingers. The sieve is then carefully lifted up without smudging, leaving behind the rangoli pattern on the floor.

In this way a fast and instant rangoli gets created even by a novice rangoli maker.