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DLTK's Countries and Cultures - India
Rangoli designs

Sunita, one of our viewers, writes:  We make rangolis, which are colourful geometric shapes filled with coloured rice or sand.   Thanks Sunita!

Rangoli is a popular art form among Indian women.  Rangoli are painted on the ground in front of houses using rice powder -- sometimes supplemented by flower petals and other colorful materials.  Rangoli are typically painted during the tamil month of Maarkazhi (between December 15th and January 15th).

  
Hindu Legend:  During the month of Maarkazhi, the Goddess Andal prayed to Lord Thirumal to marry her.  Her wish came true and others also began to pray to have the husband of their dreams.  During this month, unmarried women paint rangolis to welcome Lord Thirumal in hopes that they will have the same good fortune as Andal.

Instructions:

bulletPrint out template of choice
  
bulletColor the design (see options for coloring below)
  

Options for Coloring:

- pastel crayons and poster paint both have nice bright colors and make terrific choices for young children coloring in the rangoli.

- Salt glitter is another interesting choice.  It's a little messy, but some kids like a bit of a mess when they craft.

- colored rice is another choice:

bulletreal rangoli are typically made with a rice paste, which makes colored rice is a nice option
  
bulletTo food color rice, 
bullet add a healthy amount of food coloring to two 1 tsp of rubbing alcohol in a ziploc
bag. 
bullet Pour in about 3/4 cup of UNCOOKED rice. 
bullet Close the bag
bulletShake well (like shake and bake)
bulletPour onto a piece of wax paper or tinfoil to dry (put it in a cookie sheet so it doesn't accidentally get
knocked on the floor)
bulletMaking the colored rice is messy and food color doesn't come out of clothes well... the shaking part can be
done by kids, but the rest should be done by an adult.
bulletI like using food coloring PASTE instead of drops as I find the color is richer, but drops work too. 
bullet Let dry (about 1/2 a day -- less if you spread them out well in a warm airy place) -- once again, I never listen
to my own advice... our rice had about 5 minutes to dry before we used it... we just made sure to have a
damp rag to wash off our hands.  
  

Print the Template: 

bulletClose the template window after printing to return to this screen. 
  
bulletSet page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers). 

 

Indian rangoli designs Indian rangoli designs Indian rangoli designs Indian rangoli designs Indian rangoli designs

Indian rangoli designs Indian rangoli designs Indian rangoli designs Indian rangoli designs Indian rangoli designs

Indian rangoli designs Indian rangoli designs Indian rangoli designs Indian rangoli designs

  

Printable version of these instructions