COLOURS BENEATH YOUR FEET

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The kolams are these small mandalas that in some areas of India, are painted on the ground outside the front door to draw luck and fortune. In the village where I was, basically they did these anew every day, but there are some special dates where kolams are much more elaborate and more colorful (e.g. the festival of Diwali, India’s National Day, etc ...).

Kolams are drawn with a kind of colored chalk powder that is bought in the market. Sometimes they are made of rice- flour paste, which may be eaten by little animals symbolising a reverence for the smallest living creatures.
The skill and speed of the women is incredible as they trace out the patterns. Usually it is the responsibility of one family member to draw the mandala each morning, most often the mother or the eldest daughter of the house. Also you can find kolams in front of schools and shops.
It is unfortunate that we do not have time for these types of simple things in the west! On the one hand it is a joy to do it, its entertaining, and it is a tradition passed from mother to daughter. For them it is also, an act of faith and a focus point for their lives. It is wonderful to enter a house where the first thing you notice is the beautiful kolam composition, full of color!

Maybe one should not rely on this as the best way to attract good fortune (forgive my skepticism on this issue ....) but I think its a form of meditation, 5 minutes each day, and this sort of thing that we deem as nonsense, might well provide us with some benefit.

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