The kolam cornucopia

CHENNAI: Even the simplest pleasures in life are not without the implicit bias we hold towards it. A sari-clad young woman inspires certain stereotypes, a degree in engineering brings with it a bagful of associations, a preference for jazz writes its own story. The humble kolam, straightjacketed in tradition and gender roles, is no different. But perhaps there’s more to it than being an early morning staple at the doorstep. Ask Bhargavii Mani and the answer is a resounding “Yes!”. From the immense design potential at hand to the wonders it has to offer in the area of mental health, there’s plenty in store, she says. And she is just about beginning to scratch the surface in exploring the world of kolams with thousands of enthusiasts with her project — Kolam Podu.

It was in mid-2018 that it started as a self-prescribed pick-me-up, Bhargavii narrates. For years, kolam making had been a chore — one that was so routine that you barely notice it even as you’re doing it; one that she was only happy to let go when there came an alternative. Picking it up after nearly 20 years, even the ezhai (releasing kolamavu to form the lines) did not come easily. As the hobby grew steady, the social media space beckoned. “I wanted to share them on Instagram. Interestingly, a lot of people started following me. I didn’t realise that people I didn’t know were following...I did not know about this private and public account business.

That was when I was trying to upgrade my software skills, learning animation. So I decided to take some of these kolam patterns and make them animations. I shared one animation and there was a great response. That’s when it occurred to me to create a separate page for it,” she recounts. That’s how Kolam Podu came to be. The name came from the men in the office, she says, for that’s what they had grown up hearing from their moms: “Po, kolam podu.” With a movement of sorts in place, it was Karthigai of 2019 that pushed Kolam Podu to bigger grounds. A kolam a day for the month (complete with betel leaf-bearing agal vilakkus) spilled into Margazhi too and there was no looking back. 

Seeking calmness 
While the project seemed to be taking on a life of its own, inviting more and more makkal to the fold, Bhargavii was finding out more about her affinity towards this brand of art. While mandala workshops and adult colouring books continue to hold their place in the art-for-mental-health checklist, she realised she has little interest in them. “How many paintings can I do and what would I possibly do with them all?” “How many people finish their colouring books?” she asks. “Our focus and attention span has significantly reduced because there are so many distractions out there.

Can you come away from those distractions and do something? Most people are struggling with this. I too had an attention-span problem. Kolam was the fastest, cheapest option. The canvas is free, kolamavu is `20, and, at most, you’ll need a wet cloth (for the wet mix); and you’ll probably spend five minutes on the job. That is how it started but I began falling in love with it. The peace and quiet, and the calmness it gives you will begin growing on you”, she shares. Just drawing kolams on paper and doing it over and over again will get you calm in 15 minutes, she assures. “The way the lines flow, your hand has to flow the same way. If your mind isn’t calm, the lines won’t flow the way they should. Even if you’re mindful for five minutes, that changes the way the brain works,” she reasons.

These everyday ventures into mindfulness prompted her to take her kolam game to the next level. From merely repeating foolproof, time-tested patterns, she started trying her hand at new designs. The designer in her was on high alert. Having taught design for aspiring interior designers for two years, creativity and problem solving (her key subjects) are natural stimulants for this multifaceted artist. “Cracking a puzzle always gives me a high. So I wanted to find out how these kolams worked. That’s when I came across the three rules of kolams: rule of symmetry (along the X axis or Y axis, or radial symmetry), the lines have to cross each just once, and all the dots have to be covered. At least, this is how it works for sikku kolams.

And this caught my attention. I realised we can create so many new patterns with just these rules. So I took on a 3x3 grid and drew out all the existing patterns I could think of; then, I took one of them and tried to see how many new ones I could come up with. And it just went on and on,” she explains.

DD Challenge
Building on this premise, she took it to Kolam Podu and her band of followers with the ‘Create, Combine and Construct’ module. “It was all about how do you ‘create’ a kolam by ‘combining’ possibilities and ‘constructing relationships’. That’s how this year began for her tribe of kolam makers. By the time the national lockdown rolled in, this activity metamorphosised into DD Challenge (Develop your Design) on Instagram. What began as a means to offer a constructive distraction through her medium of choice grew into a huge phenomenon, inviting thousands of participants. A reputed Kanjivaram silk sari brand offered a sari worth `14 grand for the winners too! After plenty of shadiness on part of contest-mongers and much drama, Bhargavii took help from RJ Balaji, SA Aravind, Kushboo , Anuradha Sriram and Anu Hasan to pick the 20 best entries. 

While Kolam Podu continues to have its adventures, Bhargavii too has been finding more and more reasons to preserve her love for this form of art. What with a friend, an occupational therapist, terming kolam making as ‘mind yoga’ based on all the benefits it had to offer, a family member who is a geriatric specialist in the US confirming that this is as good a brain exercise as any, her own experience of finding calmness and slowness in embracing this in her everyday life, there was plenty to bank on. With the belief that kolams are the next sudoku, she is sitting on plans for an app. “The original plan for Kolam Podu was to launch an app.

But I realised that for investing in an app and so much technology, people need to relearn the art of drawing a kolam — understanding the science and principles behind it and enjoy it. For me, DD Challenge is my proof of concept that this will work,” she explains. She is also collaborating with Coimbatore-based Ceramic Affairs to create an entire collection of tiles with kolam designs. Even as there is plenty of time till these plans materialise, there is much joy to be had from the reassurance that Kolam Podu does what it can to make people happy, one kolam at a time, says Bhargavii. And isn’t that something?

Motivating force

You need that one inspiring aunt or uncle in the family to encourage you and bring out the best in you. For Bhargavii, it was her Shanthi periamma. “We were a joint family on weekends, constantly landing up at my aunt’s house. She was the reason all of us in my family are good at something. She helped identify what we were good at and encouraged us to pursue it. You need that one selfless aunt in the family; and most good families have one,” she narrates, attributing her love for kolams to her own selfless aunt.