"The Kolam is part of the Tamil village culture. It is a decorative artwork drawn on the floor in front of houses and in front of the deities in the pooja rooms. Although finely-ground rice flour was originally used, now grinded stones of various colors are the more common ingredient for making these drawings. After the ground has been moistened with water, we draw with the grinded stone powder. When the symmetrical pattern is in color, then it is called 'Rangoli'."   According to Pappaparvathi, who started to make Kolams at age ten, the Kolam tradition is handed down from mother to daughter and is purely a woman's art form.   Done around sunrise, the arranging of dots into rows enduces concentration as well as a feeling of contemplation and is therefore thought to purify the body, mind and soul. Lakshmi, who is the Goddess that blesses the home, is said to be present when a home is adorned by the Kolam.

"When I was a little girl, my mother would get up early in the morning. She would have a shower, then, after cleaning the ground in the front of the house and sprinkling water on it, she would create a symmetrical pattern. Sometimes she would dissolve cow dung in the water to give the ground a darker background to work on. The cow dung water is regarded as a purifying substance that also keeps off mosquitoes and other insects. My mother would hold a handful of flour in her right hand, and then uniformly and in a continuous line drop the flour to make lines and dots using her thumb and forefinger. Now-a-days, we use powder made from grounded stones. My mother makes complicated and huge patterns during the festival months. Temples are then adorned with Kolams made of complex patterns that cover thousands of square feet.  Large Kolams are usually created by groups of women working together.

Pappaparvathi on a cold New Jersey Winter day creating a Kolam on her veranda.