A man walking on a path to the temple

1 minute read

Making a Kolam

Making a Kolam

Especially during the harvest season, you'll see many women making kolams outside their homes in the morning. Kolams are beautiful patterns made from rice flour. Besides for decoration purposes it was a way to feed birds and critters. A way to honor that all life is sacred and a tribute to harmonious co-existence.

During our recent meditation retreat I captured this lady decorating the area in from of the hotel lobby one morning in Swamimalai, South India. Walking around a village in Tamil Nadu in the morning you'll see many ladies making kolams, from simple designs to stunning elaborate multi-colored patterns.



Making a Kolam image

More Articles

  • Rice, food of the south
    Feb 26, 2012 Spiritual Adventures

    Rice, food of the south

    The harvest festival, Thai Pongal, takes place on the 14th of January and is celebrated predominantly in Tamil Nadu, South India. The festival is dedicated to the sun god, Surya, and marks the beginning of the sun's journey northward, uttarayana. Tamils thank Surya for a good har

    Learn More
  • Frams Torners....letters in disguise
    Feb 26, 2012 Photography & Travel

    Frams Torners....letters in disguise

    Occasionally I'll post something totally random like this that I've seen while on the road. This one I saw in a little village in a pretty remote part of South Eastern India in a road side shop. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to blog it. Ok, I've heard of Transformers - robots

    Learn More
  • Smashing the Ego
    Feb 26, 2012 Spiritual Adventures

    Smashing the Ego

    At a small Shiva temple in the countryside of the Chettinad region, we stopped to participate in a Hindu custom in which a coconut is smashed on the ground in front of the temple to symbolize the smashing of the ego. The temple was beautifully kept and practically deser

    Learn More
  • At the Ayyanar temple
    Feb 25, 2012 Spiritual Adventures

    At the Ayyanar temple

    Ayyanar is a village god, loosely affiliated with Hinduism, but emerging from a folk tradition of protective deities that keep disease and misfortune away from small rural villages. In one area of Tamil Nadu, the Ayyanar cult is particularly strong and many villages have Ayyanar

    Learn More
  • Learning Chettinad Cooking
    Feb 25, 2012 Spiritual Adventures

    Learning Chettinad Cooking

    Our spiritual and culinary adventure is coming to a conclusion and today we had our last cooking class. It was on two Chettinad style dishes. The first was "Mint Chutney" and the second "Kola Urundai Kolambu". Here's the recipe for the "Mint Chutney" that we learned today. Ingr

    Learn More
  • Fire ceremony at Pillayarpatti
    Feb 25, 2012 Spiritual Adventures

    Fire ceremony at Pillayarpatti

    Today we went to the small town of Pillayarpatti in the heartland of Chettinad to an ancient Ganesha temple. The priests in the temple come from the best priest training school in South India and the ceremonies are conducted with incredible rigor and to the highest standard. Anci

    Learn More

FREE Weekly Wisdom!

Get my free weekly emails and receive insights, teachings, & spiritual tools to live with purpose and joy.

* By subscribing you agree with our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Hindu mandala with intricate patterns and symbolic icons

Live a life of purpose & joy with the

Happier Life Program

Learn More