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Rangoli
is one of earliest evidences of painting in India. The earliest
record of rangoli or floor painting is found in the Puranas and has
been referred to as one of the 64 arts.
According
to a legend recorded in Chitra Lakshana, the earliest treatise on
Indian painting, a king and his kingdom were steeped in sorrow at the
death of the high priest’s son. Everybody prayed to Lord
Brahma, who moved by the prayers, asked the king to paint a portrait
of the boy on the floor so that he could breathe life into it. And
with that the art of floor painting came to life.
Art
in India was a form of worship. It was never art for arts sake. Its
practice (sadhana) was a part of a spiritual process. An individual
drew nourishment through art for his mental and spiritual life. And
that is how rice, flour and flowers were transformed into picturesque
offerings to God in the form of floor painting.
In
the absence of canvas and brushes the mud floor and indigenous
materials life rice powder and petals were used. Devotion and
artistic yearning were thus transformed into visuals. Rangoli draws
its very sustenance from festivals. Decorating the floor on
auspicious occasions also creates a feeling of well-being.
A
must for auspicious occasions, floor painting was part of everyday
life. Mud floors were made attractive with a painting at the
doorstep. These painting were also a sign of welcome. The dinning
room where everybody sat on the floor to have meals was decorated and
the area where the leaf plate was to be kept was also bordered with a
design. In fact even the mud stoves were cleaned every morning and
evening and decorated with designs. This was a preserve of the
womenfolk, who often sang as they drew, for each design had a song
which described the pattern and the deity in whose honour the
painting was being made. Women were trained in this art from
childhood and in some part of India, the new bride was expected to
draw a design on the threshold of her new home.
In
the art of floor painting the central design is the symbolic one
denoting the deity, the festival or the theme. Common motifs are
lotus, fish, birds, snakes etc. which emphasise the oneness of man
and beast. Most of the designer are circular indicative of the
endlessness of time. In Bengal in order to illustrate this concept
they draw a sheshnag (king cobra) – a picture of a snake begins
at the mouth of another and this goes on in circles, representing
eternity. The sun, moon and other zodiac signs are also common
themes for floor painting. Layered with symbolism is the lotus
denoting Goddness Lakshmi, the unfolding of life, the heart or the
wheel.
In
the Himalayan region the seat of Lakshmi consists of two interfaced
tringles signifying also the deity of learning, Sarswati. Encircling
this is a 24-petal lotus flower border, the outer circle being
decorated with Lakshmi’s footprints repeated in four corners.
Sometimes the lotus petals are made in a triangular shape for
variety. In north Bihar Lakshmi’s feet are drawn at the door,
the toes pointing inwards to indicate her entrance. The lotus in
full bloom with its numerous petals is symbolic of a life of
purposefulness and force. Again in Andhra Pradesh there is an
eight-petal lotus (ashtadal kamal) and many geometric patterns
forming the lotus. In Tamil Nadu the hridaya kamalam is an
eight-pointed star meaning lotus of the heart. In Maharasthra too
the lotus is a basic motif and designs like shankh kamal – shell
lotus and thabak which means salver is in the shape of an eight-petal
lotus with straight lines elaborated with curving lines to give it
the appearance of a salver. In Gujarat alone there are said to be
1001 variations of the lotus which are drawn during Diwali, the
festival when Goddness Lakshmi is worshipped. Other motifs are
swastikas and conch shells.
All
over the southern part of India the harvest festival is marked by
gaiety and prosperity. The patterns drawn are peripheral. Most
designs are basically geometric patterns formed with dots and lines
to make squares, circles, swastikas, lotus, trident, fish, conch
shell footprints, creepers, trees bear testimony both to individual
genius and community participation and many work for days together on
single design.
The
reasons contributing to the survival of this art inspite of external
influences are manifold and lie deeply entrenched in tradition. But
one among them, seemingly simple in nature but having deeper
connotations, is that floor painting requires for its raw materials
mainly edibles like rice flour, pulse and leaves. As these materials
were never in short supply, the women of India nurtured this creative
activity without any problem or dependence on anybody. An element of
symbolism is however found here too. All over India, floor paintings
are essentially white in colour. White is a symbol of peace, purity
and tranquility. The material used is rice flour or rice paste,
because rice to all Indians is a sign of prosperity. Yet another
symbol of prosperity is the colour yellow. Turmeric yellow or ochre
is also often used to fill in the white outlines. More often
however, vermillion is used. Vermillion, is considered auspicious.
Also used are peagreen and rust brown. The most colourful floor
paintings are the mandanas of Rajasthan. In Kerala too, they are
colourful. Here flowers and petals are used to colour the motifs.
Generally earth and vegetable dyes are used and for the brush, the
fingertips, or sometimes sticks wound with rag or cotton. In the
south an instrument called the kuzlal is used. It is a cylindrical
drum pierced with holes in a particular design, pulled along the
floor like a lawn mower, it leaves behind lines forming the pattern.
It is very small in size ranging from 4 “to 6” depending on
the design. Today zinc oxide and paint brushes are also used. As
floors have changed from mud to mosaic and tiles, materials too have
changed. Transfers which can be easily stuck on the desired area re
gaining popularity. This tradition continues while the art grows to
suit the changing needs of society. In areas like Kumaon however,
external influences can still be zeroed down to nil. In the south
one finds that newer innovations have further strengthened the use of
kolams.
Phool kolam as it is known in Kerala, is made at the entrance of
temples particularly. The design has a central flower bed is
outlined with rice powder. In the districts of Tamil Nadu kolam
still has great significance and is drawn on either side of the road.
The road is divided into two halves and on festive occasions both
sides are full of intricate designs.
Traveling
northwards one notices a great similarity in the floor paintings of
Madhya Pradesh and certain parts of Bihar. Referred to as mandanas in
Madhya Pradesh and mandal in Bihar, they have found a mention in many
Grahassastras and Sanskara Ratnas. A special one in Madhya Pradesh
is made at the entrance to the house on a new moon night as the
monsoon ends, in the form of several stylized fruits and leaves, done
in ochre and white lines with an olive green background which
symbolises fecundity. On Holi, triangular patterns of a drum sacred
to the deity are made in which the double outlines are filled in by
tiny lines while the body is filled with smaller dots and lines after
each is divided into dimunitive triangles. Yet another distinctive
style is the Madhubani which means forest of honey and is a village
of Darbhanga district in north Bihar. The paintings also known as
dhuli chitra or dust paintings are made with rice paste. Geometrical
designs as also highly stylized figures and motifs such as Laskshmi’s
feet, the lotus as mentioned earlier are drawn. Perhaps the most
colourful of floor paintings are found in Rajastjan – in dark
shades like blue, black, chocolate, green on a bright crimson ground.
Here squares are drawn on ceremonies while polygons are for
festivals.
Thus
reflecting regional beliefs and aesthetics based on a common
spiritual plane the art of floor painting is one which has survived
all inflences and retained and transmitted the spirit of Indian life.
Its execution speaks of skill, its conception of imagination. The
regularity and extent of its practice is demonstrative of the power
of the philosophy behind it and its existence all over India
confirms, the synchrony of Indian thought.
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