The Wondrous Rangoli

RANGOLI [Also called Rangavalli]

Rangoli or Rangavalli as it is known in Sanskrit is perhaps the oldest of Indian traditional arts kept alive by passing the tradition from one generation to another. Ancient Sanskrit texts like ‘Tilakamanjari’, ‘Kadambari’ etc dwell at length on the aesthetics of Rangoli designs and the technique of working them out. The origin of Rangoli could be traced back to the Puranic days. In the Bhagavatha Purana we hear of how the Gopis forgot their anguish of separation from Lord Sri Krishna by engaging themselves in drawing artistic, aesthetic and creative patterns of Rangoli.

The word Rangoli is a derivative of the Sanskrit word ‘Rangavalli’ which means
‘A creeper of colours’. The well-known Kannada lexicographer Rev. Kittal defines Rangoli as ‘The ornamental lines and figures drawn with various powders on the floor, the walls, in front of the house on the floor, before an idol’. Essentially an art form using line, colour and dots, the practice of Rangoli had its origin in the ancient traditional practice of welcoming Goddess Lakshmi to the house. It was also used as a symbol to keep the householder from distress. Even though the purpose of Rangoli was the same, different motifs and styles were adopted in different regions. It is a common sight even today to see traditional Hindu women getting up early in the morning, sweeping the threshold and the front approach to the house, sprinkle them with water and then draw a pattern of Rangoli both on the threshold as well as on the front approach to the house. By doing so, she sanctifies the entrance for the deities so that Goddess Lakshmi can cross the threshold, enter the house and bless the household with harmony and happiness. This is essentially the purpose of a Rangoli—welcoming the Goddess of wealth to the house.

Apart from its decorative and artistic value, Rangoli has also spiritual significance All Rangoli designs are born out of a dot or a Bindu. The Bindu, according to Tantra Shastra, is that point where all living beings unite and merge, when the individual soul merges with the Universal Soul or the Paramatman. Thus the Bindu in the Rangoli represents the universal soul and all the other lines and other decorative aspects are symbolic of individual human activities that eventually merge with the Supreme. The circle in a Rangoli normally represents the heavenly world while the square represents the earth.

It may be of interest to note that there are certain specially designed Rangoli art forms called ‘ Ashtothara Shata Nama Rangolis’ which conform to the recitation of an Ashtottara Shata Nama [Repeating 108 names of the deity] like that of Shiva, Lakshmi etc. The dots of Rangoli for the pattern have been so designed that when one starts reciting the first name of the Ashottara while joining the first two dots and repeats the other names while joining the other dots in order, he would be completing the recitation simultaneously with the last line of the Rangoli. It is understood that these patterns are adopted in certain of the temples in Tamil Nadu even today.

As Rangoli is an art heralding auspiciousness, it is customary not to paint Rangoli whenever there is an inauspicious event in the house like the occurrence of death, Shraddha ceremonies etc. This practice must have been in vogue for the past several centuries as is evident in an incident in the life of Adi Shankaracharya, about 1200 years back. It appears when the Acharya went to the house of the famous Vedic scholar Mandana Mishra in Mahishmati for a philosophical debate, he found no Rangoli in front of Mandana Misra’s house, as some Pitru Karma was going on inside the house. In good old days, even beggars would avoid seeking alms from those houses, which had no Rangoli in front of the house.

In Bengal, Rangoli is called by the name ‘Alpana’. In the Shantinikatan at Calcutta founded by Rabindra Nath Tagore more than 100 years back, the subject of Rangoli has been given particular importance and is taught as a special subject for study. A lot of research on the subject of Rangoli goes all through the year. Probably Shantinikethan is the first institution, which took the subject of Rangoli beyond the realms of tradition and showed its importance as a highly skilled and decorative art. On festive occasions like Tagore’s Birth Day, Bengali New Year, Durga Pooja etc, the students and faculty vie with each other in displaying their skill in putting highly artistic Rangoli designs.

The credit for putting up the biggest Rangoli in terms of size, time taken and aesthetics, goes to one Mrs. Leela Venkataraman of Madurai who displayed her skill in 1978 by putting up a Rangoli with 1,05, 625 dots in the form of a square, each side measuring about 40 feet.
Each line contained 325 dots and there were 325 such lines one below the other forming a square. It is further learnt that the entire design was made up of only one single line which traversed all through covering all the dots and that it took nearly 20 hours total for Mrs. Venkataraman to complete the design. For this remarkable feat, the then Tamil Nadu Government honored her with the title ‘Tamilaga Kola Tilakam’ [The Crest Jewel of the Art of Rangoli]. Mrs. Leela Venkataraman came from a traditional family devoted to the Rangoli art. During an interview with the press, Mrs. Venkataraman informed that by performing this feat she only fulfilled the desire of her mother. It appears that her mother, an expert in Rangoli, had taken a vow that before she passed away, he would do a Rangoli with about one-lakh dots. Unfortunately she passed away without having her wish fulfilled. It became the good fortune of the daughter to satisfy her mother’s wish and get recognition in the Art of Rangoli.

In the ‘Sri Lalitha Sahasra Namam’, the 236th name is “Chatuh-shasthi Kalamayee” which means that Devi Lalithamba embodies 64 Arts. According to Vatsyayana, author of
‘Kamasutra’, Rangoli has been recognized as one of the 64 Arts. As Rangoli is thus considered an embodiment of the Devi, it is recognized as a sacred art and has been passed on to us as such from generation to generation from time immemorial.


B.M.N.MURTHY

ARTICLE NO.559---RANGOLI
Created:Friday, March 5, 2010 9:59 PM