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Sanpada resident pours passion for rangoli in blog

Vijaya Saradha, has created an online library of rangolis

Richa Pinto   NAVI MUMBAI | TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 2011

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Sanpada resident S Vijaya Saradha has a thing for creating rangolis. While growing up in Chennai, Saradha, a Tamilian, would try to create new rangoli designs for the entrance to her home every day.

Now, Saradha has taken this love of hers one step further — by creating an online library where she uploads photographs of the rangoli which she makes every day.

The kolams Saradha creates every day are uploaded on http://www.yourkolam.blogspot.com/ . The reason Saradha decided to name her blog ‘your kolam’ is because she wants other people to contribute as well. “My husband was the one who initially told me about this concept of uploading various things through a blog, which is why I decided to create a blog for my kolams too. I want this online library to have every possible designer kolam. Every day I make one rangoli outside my home and take a picture of it. Over the weekend, I put up seven patterns of kolams on my blog,” says Saradha. 

Although Saradha is an engineer, she chose to give her professional ambitions a back seat and concentrate more on her family. “Two years ago, when I decided to make this library of different kolams, the one thing that I wanted was that future generations should be aware of our traditions. That was the main reason for setting up this blog, which mixes technology with culture and tradition,” asserts the rangoli expert, who is always in search of a new design. Sometimes she even looks at sarees and blankets for inspiration.

Saradha is a rangoli expert in every sense. Ask her anything about rangolis and she’ll answer without hesitation. In under 2 minutes, she can give you a list of kolams which people can make outside their home. Free-hand rangoli, padi kolam, nelli kolam, fish kolam and dotted rangoli are a few rangolis you can find on her blog.

“In Chennai, where I grew up, it is much easier to create a rangoli because my home there was much bigger. Here, one faces plenty of space constraints. However, I put up a kolam outside my home every day so that my daughter can become aware of our traditions, respect it and do it herself. Although it’s just been two years that I have started this rangoli blog, the response has really been very good. Some time ago, a girl studying graphic designing abroad had mailed me asking if she could use one of my kolam patterns. I was more than happy and asked her to go ahead and use it,” says Saradha. Her neighbors are so impressed by the kolams she makes at the entrance of her home that they too now have started contributing to her blog. “My neighbour Sonal Patel also makes some of the most beautiful rangolis you will ever see. Since she knew that I have a blog on kolams, she asked me if I could upload her rangolis on it. I really thought it would be a good idea and now one can find some of her rangoli patterns too on http://www.yourkolam.blogspot.com/ ,” says Saradha.

p_richa@dnaindia.net