The Jasmine garland – what a beautiful thing !

Another reason why I am proud to be an Indian is because of this – Jasmine flower garlands.

When a girl wears fresh Jasmine on her hair and walks past you, you get a very pleasant smell that lifts up your spirits and reminds you of your roots. It is best worn with a saree or a traditional dress. Jasmine is the sacred flower of the Hindu love God, Kama. A fragrant emblem of love, Jasmine flowers are often entwined into bridal flowers at Indian weddings. This custom is said to promise the bridle couple a deep and lasting affection for eternity.

On city streets, in front of temples, in public markets - women in beautiful sarees string together garlands in vibrant orange, pink, yellow, and white. Those that are not weaving them, are wearing them in their hair.

I will always equate the smell of Jasmine with the stone temples and festivities. These garlands are used in temples everyday to adorn Gods and Goddesses.

Tying the Jasmine flowers in a garland is an art and I always wanted to learn it when I grew up. I used to want to wear jasmine at every possible occasion. Born and raised in the beautiful south, I often took this art for granted and did not learn it until my recent India trip. I quickly learnt the art of tying jasmine flowers from a kind lady who was selling these garlands on the street side. I wore this garland very frequently when I was in India this time as my mother specially orders them everyday and it is delivered every evening.

Typically, the string is made from a banana leaf plant’s stem. Fresh flowers are hand-picked one by one and tied with the string to make a garland. There is a special knot which ties the flowers together and keeps it in place without falling. This knot is tied with a single hand and the experts do it with such swiftness and skill to make yards and yards of this garland every single morning !

Kolam - An ancient South Indian art

Kolam, meaning "guise," in India’s ancient Dravidian language called Tamil. ‘Kolam’ is also called as ‘Rangoli’ in northern India. Though the techniques are the same for both, in ‘Rangoli’, as the name indicates, color powder is used to fill in the empty spaces in the design and oil lamps ( diyas) are lit and placed over them during Diwali. ‘Kolam’ is traditionally drawn with bare fingers using small dots. They are free hand designs created by either connecting the dots for a pattern formation or loops are drawn encircling the dots to create a design.

Rice flour is the main ingridient used for the purpose. It can be blended with small amounts of limestone powder for better texture, brightness and grip while drawing.

History and significance :

Traditionally, early in the morning, women wash the portion in front of the house with a mixture of cow dung and water. Though this practice is no longer followed in the cities(as the front path is laden with tar roads, cement or tiles.), villagers still follow the style. In cities, the front path is simply washed with plain water. ‘Kolam’ is then drawn by women. It is like a welcome mat.

It is believed that ‘Kolam’ represents happiness and prosperity for that house. Since the local birds and insects feed on the rice flour used for drawing, it also represents the generosity of the people of that house towards other living creatures.

A lot of the intricate designs are handed down to the younger generation by the elder ladies in the family.

During Krishna Jayanthi, tiny feet symbols are drawn using the rice paste from the entrance of the house leading up to the pooja room, where the sweets made for the occasion are placed. It is assumed that child Lord Krishna walks into each house & savors the meal provided (called ‘prasad’) and thus blesses the household with health, wealth and all round prosperity. Even though in my house, we celebrate Krishna Jayanthi, we do not follow the tradition of drawing ‘Kolam’ or drawing Krishna’s feet using rice powder. But we used to draw designs with limestone on the doorstep or wall during occasions like Diwali and ‘Tulsi Pooja’. My mom used to ask me to draw designs on the doorstep every year during the festival. As a child I was very interested in doing this as I grew up watching my neighbors draw ‘Kolam’ every morning outside their houses. So once during Krishna Jayanthi, I prepared a mixture of rice powder and water and drew little Krishna’s feet from our porch to our prayer area. It gave me so much joy to do these little things as a child !

Some interesting tidbits : There are variations of this art practiced in other corners of the world. For example, in Tibet, the Buddhist monks work for days to create intricate ‘Mandalas’ out of colored sand. When these are finished they are swept away in a ritual offering in a matter of moments. The Navajo ( native Indian) tribe in the United States, create elaborate sand paintings in a ritual to restore peace and harmony. Similar practices exist in Haiti as a means for communicating with the Loa (Haitian deities). Though the particulars of each tradition vary slightly, the basic art remains the same.

About my Kolam:

In the picture above, is a simple ‘Kolam’ design I made with dots, the traditional way using plain rice flour. Drawing a ‘Kolam’ freestyle is not as simple as it seems. Our maid, at my home in Madras, taught me a basic design during my India trip. I got this one right after a couple of tries.