Rangavalli

Rangavalli Muggu in Telugu, Rangoli in Kannada and Kolam in Tamil is an Indian pattern based on mathematical grid structures, used to make a form of sandpainting for religious festivals. There is a symmetry to the designs and they are used in handicraft and stitching as well as in gardens and on ground using flour or powder.

These patterns or designs were once created using rice flour. Holding a handful of flour in their right hand, the woman will uniformly drop the flour to make a line through her thumb and pointer and keep on moving her hands to make the curve or the dots. Nowadays, women use powdered stones. (Stone is crushed and sold commercially).

The patterns are very complicated and huge during festival months. The temples will have complex patterns that will cover thousands of square feet. Sometimes, several women together will create one large design. The patterns are also called 'Muggulu' in telugu and 'Kolam' in Tamil'.

When the symmetrical pattern is decorated in colors using colored sand or flowers, then it is called rangoli.

The design or pattern is not always symmetrical. It could just be a continuous line that curves around to make a border or continuous line design. The "threshold" design, as it also referred to, is compared to African sand drawings.