Live always at the edge of poetic possibilty, even in the face of severe prose. - Walter Bruggemann


Monday, November 17, 2008

ABC Wednesday - R

R is for RangoliRangoli is an art form in India that uses colored sand to make beautiful designs on the ground. They start out with dots making a geometric pattern and then the dots are filled in with white chalk to make these beautiful designs and flowers. The colored sand completes the design. They're created on the pavement of streets or the dirt right in front of peoples front doors.
Rangoli is created in southern India during the harvest festival of Pongal at the beginning of the new year.

In January of 2007 I visited Astrid Rowe Memorial High School, Hyderabad in the state of
Andrah Pradish, India. I was with Friends of Christ in India an outreach mission program of Greenfield Hill Congregational Church, UCC in Fairfield, CT. On our last day they had a rangoli competition, the girls were working very hard on their designs.
This particular rangoli was on the ground in the Khammam district, a very rural and poverty ridden area outside of Hyderabad. We took 30 teenagers on retreat to visit elderly, boys and girls hostels and a leper colony.
In the center of the flowers and the design is usually some sort of dung (don't ask) and marigold petals.
Back at the high school.
Sari old me down helping one girl out with her rangoli.
Happy pongal everyone. For more rockin' R entries see Ms. Nesbitt at ABC Wednesday.

9 comments:

Richard Lawry said...

That reminds me of the sand painting that Native Americans do.
An Arkie's Musings

Leslie: said...

Those are fascinating! I've never heard of it before. Can you walk on them after? Or do you just admire them?

Suzanne said...

Leslie,
You can walk on them however it would sort of be like walking on sidewalk art. Mostly you just admire them.

david mcmahon said...

Thanks for the visit and the comment. I was born and educated in India, so I'm familiar with rangoli ....

photowannabe said...

Very interesting and so artistic. Lots of hard work to be washed away.

earthlingorgeous said...

WOW! That is so cool! I didn't know that! What great arts you did on the sand!


Earth

Liz Hinds said...

They're very beautiful. How very creative.

antigoni said...

I didn't know any of that. Thank you for sharing. Very good post.

Bear Naked said...

What a wonderful post.
I never knew that this sand art was called Rangoli.
Thanks for sharing.


Bear((( )))