A view of India through kolam patterns and their grammatical representation

Abstract

Kolam is a form of decorative design that is drawn on the front courtyard of a house in India. Drawing of kolam patterns is more prevalent in South India, especially in the rural parts. With big apartment complexes coming up in cities, the front yard concept is scaled down, but still small patterns are drawn in front of the front door of the apartments. In North India, the patterns are called Rangoli, and they are drawn with color powders.