Pookalams – Captivating floral carpets !

Pookalams rangolisHappy Onam to all our readers!

Come August, and it is the beginning of back-to-back festivities in India. I had promised to post about Pookalams or flower rangolis in my last rangoli post. There can’t be a better occasion than Onam to post them; Pookalams are designs or rangolis created on the eve of Onam, by Malayalees. The stunning designs portray a visual picture of virtual carpets. Pookalams are generally made using petals of different flowers and leaves. From conceptualizing to planning and executing, a lot of effort goes behind a pookalam. Not to mention the creativity and the fun that goes along the festivities. Arulmurugan was generous enough to share the pictures he clicked at Pookalam competitions, enjoi! Check out more pics on his flickr site.

Flower rangolis
Classic color combination is used here

Pookalams design

love the pattern of pookalams rangolis
Love the pattern used here

 

Pookalams design portraying Kathakali, traditional dance of Kerala
Design portraying Kathakali, traditional dance of Kerala

 

Pookalams design depicting the story of Mahabali and Onam
Design depicting the story of Mahabali and Onam

 

Traditional Kerala woman and boat race - Pookalams rangolis
Traditional Kerala woman and boat race

 

Pookalams traditional design
Another traditional design

 

Do you make any other kind of rangoli, what materials do you use? Would you like to see some more posts about rangoli? Let us know.

19 Comments

  1. Ooh, these are beautiful Rekha! And it's quite a bit of new info for me:)

    Sharon

  2. How beautiful and inventive! I love the more traditional and symmetrical ones.

  3. excellent

    Vidya Sridharan

  4. I usually don't comment on blogs – and I've been following your for a while but this time, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the rangolis.

    I think these are scathingly brilliant – I also wish I had enough talent and patience to do one.

  5. I learned about rangoli not long ago, and am happily reminded of this art. They are more than just a decor. Looks really amazing.

    Nicolette
    http://www.furnitureanddesignideas.com/

  6. Hey Rekha, awesome rangolis…really nice pics

  7. Hey Rekha & Sharon,

    Check out my post: http://purplehomes.blogspot.com/2009/09/five-of-my-favorite-things-to-do-on.html

    I would R-E-A-L-L-Y love it if you take this up. If and when you do, please drop me a comment so that I can mention it on my blog as well. Thanks and waiting to hear from you!

  8. Lovely Pookolams. I appreciate the artistic minds and their effort to make beautiful Kolams.

  9. Sharon, shalini, vidya- I agree, these are simply beautiful.

  10. Aggie, Nicolette, glad you loved the rangoli ideas.

  11. lovely rangolis,..:-)thy look so coour ful

  12. @ purplehomes, notyet100 – Thanks for dropping by and liking the post.

  13. Rekha, I wish I had seen this post and photos earlier when I was posting about Onam and pookalams in my India-a-h! blog.
    I love the traditional ones. The newer ones are innovative but I prefer the traditional ones, especially lit up with the soft glow of brass lamps.

  14. So lovely! I love floral rangolis with diyas. They are so colorful

  15. @Sunita, I agree, can't beat traditional ones any time.
    @ Shillu – Thanks for dropping by..

  16. thanks for dropping by……..everything looks beautiful and can see the efforts and hardwork

  17. The traditional ones were eye-catching, and the Kathakali one impressive. But which ones do you think are the most toughest to create?

  18. These are so incredible! I wish there were 'templates' available in Delhi that we could use. My Diwali rangoli always ends up being asymmetrical 😉