With the Supreme Court of India banning sale of fireworks in Delhi (NCR), there has been wave of debates across the country on whether bursting of fire crackers should be allowed in the country. Just as the hashtag #spreadlightnotnoise is becoming popular with environmentalists, pet lovers, and asthma patients like me, there are many who are against it. The combined effect of demonetisation, GST, and now this ban, they say will severely affect the economy of Sivakasi, the city of matches and fireworks and the livelihood of its people. Then there are those, who feel that Diwali will not sparkle without crackers. But to those, I ask, why not celebrate with locally made silks (cottons too!!) and handmade jewelry? Not only will your Diwali be more meaningful, but even the local craftspeople will become prosperous. Talk brings me to the edition of Patinam that I created specifically for Diwali inspired by Kolams.
Festivals and Kolam
Kolam is a form of everyday transient art that is drawn on the ground/floor using rice flour or chalk powder. If you have heard about this art form or seen it before, you must check out this introduction to Kolams post. Regular readers might recollect that I had hosted the BNB17 contest with the Kolam theme. You can find several Kolam examples here. Drawing a Kolam, a Rangoli or an alpana (the other forms of kolam) in an intrinsic part of Indian festivals and celebrations. Diwali is no different. Some people may decorate their entire houses or atleast the Facade with Serial lights or even earthen lamps. But almost everyone who celebrates Diwali will create a kolam or atleast use a sticker and place a lamp or candle on it. It is a symbol of spreading out a welcome carpet for Light and prosperity to enter your house. I cannot think of Diwali without a kolam or lighting lamps. Naturally, I chose Kolam Jewelry as a theme for this edition of Patinam.
Kolam Jewelry for Diwali
I had long wanted to create a kolam collection – something for the Marghazi season (December – January) but somehow it never worked out. So this time for Diwali, aided by the push given by a friend, I decided to do a few Pulli Kolam (dot based endless knots) based pieces. It was a resounding success with all four being picked up the same day I posted them. The designs are drawn based on the patterns shown in Kamalascorner.
I made four Kolam Jewelry variants with different pulli kolam designs in Black, brown, light olive and purple. Though not pictured here, each of them come with different types of cute earrings. The Brown is a stud with a bead dangle, the green is a stud with resin kolam drops, and the black is a stacked bead hanging. I have used the loop part of clasps to create earrings for the purple pair with teardop beads. My personal favourites are the Brown and black necklace and the green earrings. Seriously, how cute are those earrings?
All four pieces are sold. As I have received a number of requests for Kolam Jewelry, I’ll be making more pieces soon. Keep an eye out for them in the 2nd week of November.
Thinking ahead, I wonder, should I consider doing other types of Kolam, rangoli, Alpana or even figurative pulli kolams? I would love to hear your suggestions. Please write to me in the comments.
Do Have a fantastic Diwali until then 🙂
Check out other posts on Patinam below
Jewelry based on famous personalities
Of Chennai Temples and Jewellery
Fort St.George inspired Patinam jewelry
Chintz Necklace
Celebrating Madras week with Patinam
I hope you find it interesting
Cheers
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