Rainbow peacock rangoli and other sand mandala designs

How are rangoli designs created? These videos are titled with the word “easy,” but this traditional art takes practice. The compilation video above, shared by the India-based PakkaLocal YouTube channel, captures how Menaka’s Rangoli creates four celebratory rangoli designs, including a rainbow peacock kolam and single color dots rangoli.

“Drawn meticulously and with bare fingers,” explains Rangoli.org, “it is meant to ward off all evils and is revered as a divine art.”

“Rangoli patterns involve a floor design and are usually drawn using rice flour, chalk, fine quartz powder, flower petals, grains or other natural materials made of vegetable dyes. Drawing and connecting simple dots or lines is what usually creates these exquisite floor designs. Most of the motifs are either geometric or they imitate the flora and the fauna. Women draw more elaborate designs during special occasions, such as weddings, temple ceremonies, and festivals.

“With this daily ritual, the women hope for the day to bring peace, health, good luck, and prosperity. Rangoli, also referred to as ‘Sand Mandala’, has various names throughout India: Kolam, Alpana, Muggulu, and Rangavalli. Rangoli is meant for the moment or the occasion. Like that of a flower, its freshness is short lived. To the uninitiated, the impermanence of the Rangoli art can be a candle in the wind. Once its purpose is served, it is erased and the ritual is repeated with the same intention and zeal.”

Enjoy five more floral styles of rangoli in the video below:

Then watch more videos about sand art on TKSST:
• Chladni Plate: Sand Vibration Patterns
• Motoi Yamamoto’s intricate, temporary salt installations
• Zen garden patterns composed by designer Yuki Kawae
• Dessin sur sable (sand drawings): Evolution of Earth
• Andres Amador’s Earthscapes: Art that Goes Out with the Tide