Have you ever looked at the lines of a kolam? Its always interconnected. Have you ever watched the person behind the design, at work? Let me tell you a secret, they're actually lost in a different world. The ride back only starts at the end.

I stopped referring to a book for inspiration a very long time ago. These days all I have for inspiration is the freshly washed floor. Today as I was deciding what to draw, for a minute I came up blank, and as time was ticking I just decided to go with the flow. Yet today's one seemed to have left me inspired and philosophical.

As everyone gushed at today's design, I smiled knowingly of its flaws. You see I don't think I've ever drawn a perfect kolam, I don't think I ever will. I know occasionally my symmetries don't add up, or I made the wrong curve but managed to divert it back on course. To the outsider it looks flawless but I know its secrets. I could sit and pinpoint the flaws even if you don't see it, I was the creator, it was my creation, I know where it isn't beautiful. But that is the beauty of it, the flaws make my designs real, alive and most of all life like.

Take life, you go on charting a path, climbing hurdles, going through winding curves, sometimes taking repetitive circles of ups and downs. You being the person living the life, know where you had faltered, where the errors and mistakes are and the loses that time had dealt. But wait why are we analysing mistakes. Wait god tells you, step back with me and see what I see and behold despite the flaws that you think is evident, actually a beautiful design has taken shape. All that curves, circles, ups and downs intertwined itself, bringing character to what would have been plain straight lines, had life been a perfect transcending line!

The point is life has its flaws, you have imperfections, everyone has done some mistake - but these are what makes you one of a kind - no two patterns are ever the same, they could be similar but not identical. Each point of your life defines who you are, who you will be, who you can be.

Our ancestors were clever, kolams are pretty therapeutic. Each time I draw one, my thoughts wander, yeah so there's another obstacle, you'll have to make changes, but it will all come together, it will all make sense, soon, as beautifully as you had imagined, the curves tell me.

Life's philosophy courtesy the endless cycle called Kolams.

The Kolam that inspired ;)



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MR Rain played spoil sport - I couldn't get a fully dry shot coz it started raining in between prayers. And this was a huge kolam.

You can check larger versions of all the images in my flickr page. You can find the link on my side bar.

By the way the flooring is actually cement on all the temple photos - an old temple.

On a daily basis I'll draw either 3 kolams or one huge one depending on MR rain's tantrum.

I first started learning how to put kolams during Margzhali - and have been putting them in the temple for the past 14 years everyday during Margzhali.

I've always wanted to document the kolams - so here they are. Some stepped on some with mistakes - some played off by the rain!