Kolam or also known as Muggu is a form of drawing that is drawn by using rice flour, chalk, chalk powder or rock powder, often using naturally or synthetically colored powders.
It is mainly done in Sri Lanka, the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and some parts of Goa, Maharashtra as well as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and a few other Asian countries.
A Kolam is a geometrical line drawing composed of curved loops, drawn around a grid pattern of dots.
In South India and Sri Lanka, it is widely practised by female Hindu family members in front of their houses.
Kolams are regionally known by different names in India, Raangolee in Maharashtra, Aripan in Mithila, Hase and Rangoli in Kannada in Karnataka.
More complex Kolams are drawn and colors are often added during holiday occasions and special events.
Significance of Kolam:
Kolams are thought to bring prosperity to homes.
The mathematical properties of Kolam are being used in the computer science field.
Kolam patterns are studied and algorithms are developed for regenerating kolam designs with different patterns has been done.
Algorithms for drawing kolams are used in the development of Picture drawing Computer software.
Kolams are used for research in the Computational Anthropology.
As Kolams have a strong relationship with contemporary art and art history, they are used in the artwork and media field.
Kolams are also used to simplify the representation of complex protein structures for easy understanding.
