Article on Lakshmidevis Kolam

Hi frinds ,please read and give your sincere comments on it

please use magnifying lens to read it .As i tried the same

lata thank you dear this is all because of you

i have scanned the article and which is very much readable but don't know how to upload it as it is a pdf file

Attaching herewith the english translation of the article(translated by our Pushpa) for your information

Our rangoli artist Laxmidevi

Really sometimes in our life we tend to meet such talented people. This incident occurred around 3 years back. It was lakshmi puja(Diwali). As always, this day also I bent my back and made a beautiful rangoli in front of my house and took a photo of it. I wanted to exhibit it... I had no idea where do I exhibit my rangoli?.. then what I did google search...In google, I came across a website called ikolam. I immediately uploaded my rangoli in this site. It was here that I got acquainted with many talented and Mahan people... if you ask me for names there are hundreds but to state a few is mandatory... amongst them are Lakshimdevi, Rani, Pushpa, Uma, Dr. Rao, Rajamma, Subashini, Vasanthi, Mahalakshmi, Suguna, Sowmy, and others....Here If i miss Lata's(Lata Kalaimani) name it is not right...She is a south Indian lady settled in america . She is one such lady who tries to save and retain our traditional art form. She is trying to keep our traditional art form alive although she stays abroad.

To tell about rangoli, this is a very old tradition. There is a belief that if you put rangoli, you will have prosperity and wealth in your house. In the olden days, they used to grind rice and draw rangoli in front of the houses early in the mornings. There is a very good reason behind it as well, that is ants and birds need not go far away in search of food.

In ikolam I have made many friends who are excellent artists, but today I am talking about one kannadiga lady. At the present time she has settled in Chennai, tamiml nadu. The reason why I chose here is because of her own extremely versatile kolam making and more than a 1000 big and beautiful rangolis. All of them are different patterns. Even though she makes all types of rangolis with ease, the ways she makes her own rangoli is different .Her work seems like a lace work. Recently,one of the researcher from France, Chantal Jamel ,whose research topic is Indian art rangoli published an article in ”The Hindu Times “has praised about our culture especially art of rangoli .In her second book on rangoli she has praised Lakshmidevi ‘s work .

When you see Lakshmi's work it is really hard to move your eyes away from that page, it is that beautiful. If you open your eyes, it will remain open such mesmerizing is her work. Even though she can use different colors and tools to make rangoli, her option is the white rangoli powder. When I see her work, it seems like white clouds dancing in the black night, then again I feel like goddess has descended from heaven having been pleased with the dancing. Each rangoli gives rise to an ocean of thoughts to write about it. Each rangoli is poetry.

Her interest in this art form started at a small age from her mother. According to her, she started maybe around 10 years of age to learn this art form. Initially even doing simple strokes was difficult for her, but with boldness and persistence she started pursing this art form. As time flew, she mastered this art. Her time to make rangoli starts at 4 o’clock in the morning. Even if it rains or is sunny, every day she will do the rangoli without giving any reasons not to do it. Only after finishing making the rangolis will she do the other household chores. She makes sure that no obstacles come in the way of her routine kolam making.

In this fast lifestyle in India to keep this art alive is very difficult. When I asked her if your family encourages you... she replied straightforwardly my husband and my son give a lot of support and encouragement to me. It is because of them that my name has become famous here and abroad she says with pride.

The pet name that I have given her is kolam rani, rangoli rani... really she is rangoli rani only...when you see her rangoli your heart starts swinging with joy and sings a love song. Dil mange more they say... that statement is an apt title for her rangoli...IT is a real honor to have a dedicated artist like her in India.

push in fact i have to thank you. you have translated it very nicely .i know few things we can't translate it in english the beauty get lost .but you did justified it .once again thank you and my ikolam friends if i missed some names please forgive me it is not deliberate ..i have written this article in 10 minutes time .so there may be some mistake please forgive for the same .I got good response from editorial board and from few public .they liked the article as well as the kolam's and our kolam raani .

so sorry push dear i must missed it let see it right now

Lax see lata already learnt kannada. don't you think?

Ammu,i am happy to inform that i got few feed back on this from public and editorial board . people particularly ladies like the kolam appeared in this article apart from the mater .some are surprised to see such a big rangoli on daily base .Indeed i salute all TOMs for their dedication towards rangoli .

thank you anirudh for your encouraging words