Rangoli
Patterns made on the floor or ground with coloured powders, rice, sand or flowers in India.
Also: muggu, mandana, chowk purana
A rangoli is drawn at the entrance of a home or in a courtyard to welcome guests and deities, above all at Diwali. The maker lets powder run between finger and thumb to draw lines, then fills the shapes with colour. Designs may be geometric, floral or pictorial. Materials include rice flour, chalk, coloured sand, flower petals and grains. Each region has its own form and name, such as kolam in Tamil Nadu, alpana in Bengal, muggu in Andhra Pradesh and mandana in Rajasthan. The work is meant to be temporary.