Early-Morning Art

For thousands if not millions of Hindu women across India, an important early-morning ritual is the drawing of intricate, usually symmetrical geometric patterns on the ground outside their front doors. Called kolams in Tamil Nadu, these ancient motifs continue to mark the beginning of a new day. Although the practice is not as universal in the cities as in the villages, it's still a widely upheld tradition in the south. People living in Chennai apartment blocks do not have a courtyard in which to draw their kolams, so they sometimes beat the system either by using paint or by buying rubber-and-plastic kolam stickers, which they affix on the landing outside their doors. And children delight in kolam rollers, perforated tubes that roll out designs on the floor when filled with powder.

Dawn is a special time of prayer and purification, and watching a village come to life at sunrise is a singular experience. The most visible aspect of this is the kolam—even an outsider on the street can watch this ritual being performed. First, the housewife sweeps the area outside the house clean with a stiff broom, then—especially in the villages and smaller towns—spreads a layer of cow dung and water on the ground to purify it. Using a white powder (usually made of ground rice, but sometimes limestone), she marks the ground with a series of dots that dictate how the pattern is to be drawn. After this, she pours out more of the powder swiftly between her thumb and fingers to form a delicate line pattern connecting or weaving around the dots. Some women are so skilled at this that they can draw more than one line at the same time using a single hand.

Apart from simply being an early-morning ritual, the using up of the rice is considered an offering to Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and prosperity. Kolams are meant to prevent poverty, welcome desirable guests, and protect the home from evil. At festivals, women pay extra attention to the ritual, making the kolams even larger and more complex than usual. There are also special kolams drawn for different life events. For instance, thattil (cradle kolams) are drawn for a baby's naming ceremony. Even though a new one will be drawn again the next day, a kolam is still a precious creation and a symbol that each day is unique.