Kolam

Since the South Indian diaspora is worldwide, the practice of kolam is found around the world, including in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and a few other Asian countries.

It is widely practised by female family members in front of their house entrance, although men and boys also practice this tradition.

[1] The similar regional versions of kolam with their own distinctive forms are known by different names in India: raangolee in Maharashtra, aripan in Mithila, alpona in West Bengal and hase and rangole in Kannada in Karnataka.

[citation needed] In millions of households in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, women draw kolams in front of their home entrance every day at the break of dawn.

Each morning before sunrise, the front entrance of the house, or wherever the kolam may be drawn, is swept clean, sprinkled with water, thereby making for a flat surface.

[citation needed] Instead of rice flour (Tamil: கோலமாவு/Telugu: బియ్యం పిండి), white stone powder is occasionally used for creating Kolam; cow dung is also used to wax the floors.

In the olden days, kolams or muggulu were drawn in coarse rice flour so the ants would not have to walk too far or too long for a meal.

[citation needed] The patterns range from geometric and mathematical line drawings around a matrix of dots to free-form artwork and closed shapes.

The month of Mārgaḻi/Margasira was eagerly awaited by young women, who would then showcase their skills by covering the entire width of the road with one big kolam.