Rangoli is a traditional Indian art that is created at the entrance of homes. It is a sacred and age old tradition that has been passed on through generations.

Rangoli originated from two words: Rang means colours and Holi means celebration. So rangoli is an artistic celebration of colours. Rangoli is a spiritual distribution of colours. If you look at the designs of the rangoli, then you can see that most of them maintain symmetry in their design. The left and right side of the rangoli should always look similar. Symmetric designs are a symbol of prosperity, luck and growth. Interestingly, most of the rangoli designs have round edges.The round designs of the rangoli bring down the energy levels in you, leaving you calm and content.  Quite a number of rangoli designs are inspired by the shapes of flowers, coconut, Indian idols, nature etc. Temple designs at the periphery of temples across India

significantly influence rangoli border designs. Dots are also an important part of a rangoli creation. They represent the Tilak we put on our foreheads.

Typically rangoli is always drawn at sunrise. Earlier, the leading lady or the mother of the house used to create the rangoli immediately after taking a bath and chanting a prayer. While making a rangoli, ladies sing sacred mantras, believing that this will guard the family from evil forces. Whenever you enter a house with a rangoli, it is believed that the colours will bring tranquility to your soul.

Symmetry of the Rangoli brings undivided attention. In other words the moment you pass through a rangoli, you are disconnected from the past and future and are forced to remain in the present. If you are entering a house then you feel good to enter a house and if you are leaving a house then you come out in a good mood. A rangoli is subtle art of influencing you to stillness. In marriages, festivals and religious celebrations, a rangoli plays a very important role in India.

Rangoli is really not a mechanical or ornamental phenomenon. It is a science of creating energy pool. Rangoli is the origin of spirituality through art in India. There is a lot of science behind all the symbols used in a rangoli as well. But let’s keep that for a different conversation.

The new generation of Hindus has adopted a more relaxed approach to making rangoli; even the men of the family have gotten into the game of Rangoli making. A lot of competitiveness is attached to the art form of rangoli

making. There is an unsaid but very vivid competition amongst neighbours during Diwali about whose rangoli looks better and who has better decorations. This is a welcomed and friendly rivalry as it inspires new innovations in this very traditional art form. People come up with new designs and methods of rangoli

making every year and keep this vanishing art form alive.

More is pursuing his Bachelors degree  at Kathmandu College of Management