I was watching youtube and this caught my eye. Here is a
screen shot of avargaL - kATrukenna vEli - sujAta.
Relive the memories. Regards! - mOhana
Gallery
jkmrao
Here are the kolams and rangolis in this page:
- avargaL - sujAta
- Stars that have five-fold symmetry
- 3x3 chikku kOlam
- Mango pieces
- paDi kOlam a la bElUru
- Margosa Leaves!
- rangOli with strings
- Drum roll audition - mOhanaji's Rangoli
Symmetry means repetition. A basic pattern must be repeatable in two and three
dimensions. If it has only rotational symmetry, it has no great use. Herein
comes the rub. A pattern that has a five-fold symmetry is not repeatable in space
with pure rotation symmetry alone. That does not mean we can not have motifs that
have five-fold symmetry as repeating units. However the overall symmetry is not
five-fold. Here is a five-fold star pattern that I tried to repeat in space.
Disclaimer - Not responsible if the pattern begins to dance before your eyes 
Enjoy. Regards! - mOhana
Here is a 3X3 chikku kOlam dedicated to someone whose name begins
with S! Happy birthday! Regards! - mOhana
Who has not eaten mango pieces with mirchi powder sprinkled on them?
After the school or on the marina or at home in summer with the
Bangalore variety, this delicacy brings back to memory my days of
childhood. I still have great admiration for the vendors who used
to cut the pieces almost like a flower bunch! Here are some patterns
with one such mango piece. Regards! - mOhana
After learning from Mrs Rajamma about the inter-relationship between temples
and paDi kOlams (Did you see my comment and the Borobodur picture?), I ventured
upon this. I call this the bElUru paDi kOlam as this takes a leaf out of the
Hoyasala temple architecture. The outer red square is the outer prAkAram.
Instead of having another square structure for walls on which carvings can be
made, the Hoyasala sculptors had this idea. They took squares and rotated them
by a certain angle repeatedly to get more surface area on which you can carve
more motifs. I rotated the squares by 22.5 degrees with a common centre. Why
22.5, because 22.5 X 4 = 90. Then I represented two circles inside to represent
the God and his consort. Together, they form infinity signifying the infiniteness
of the almighty. Before them I placed two octagons representing the place
where the devotees can sing and dance. Your comments for improvement are most
welcome. Regards! - mOhana
Here is wishing you all a happy Indian lunar new year!
May there be no virOdhis in virOdhi!
These are patterns made with neem leaves, a part of bEvu bella, the first food
to be eaten on the new year's day. Why am I highlighting the bitter neem?
Only when there is bitterness will we know the value of sweetness, is it not?
Regards! - mOhana
I have created two ordinary well-known rangOlis with strings.
Why with strings? The lines have no thickness. Therefore if one draws rangOlis
with lines, then the third dimension is lacking. So mirror reflections are quite
common. But since strings have thickness, these types of symmetries are eliminated.
We get only pure rotational symmetries in the rangOlis. In each of the given rangOlis,
there are two strings that interweave. One can see these alternately going up
and down. Since I used nylon material, the strings are taut and I have to use
cellophane tape so that the strings follow the pattern drawn on paper.
Please feel free to comment. Regards! - mOhana
