100 Themes Challenge - Digital Whisper

Recently, Digital Whisper has come up with a brilliant idea of the 100 Themes Challenge.. My first entry for the challenge is posted here:

Challenge No 49 - STRIPES

This picture done on photoshop has been inspired by a form of art from India called the Kolam or Rangoli. Drawing a kolam is an everyday tradition in the southern parts of India.



Kolam (kõlaṁ) is a form of sandpainting that is drawn using rice powder by female members of the family in front of their home. It is widely practised by the people of Southern India. The patterns can be geometric and mathematical line drawings around a matrix of dots or free form art work and closed shapes.

Kolams are thought to bestow prosperity to homes. Every morning in Southern India, millions of women draw kolams on the ground with white rice powder. Through the day, the drawings get walked on, rained out, or blown around in the wind; new ones are made the next day. Every morning before sunrise, the floor is cleaned with water, the universal purifier, and the kolams are generally drawn while the surface is still damp.(Quoted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolam)

A typical scene of drawing kolams looks like this:



(Credit: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com)