Rangoli-230

Dhanur Maasam (when Sun enters into Dhanur Raasi or the zodiac sign of Sagittarius) starts from tomorrow. So we start our month long worship of Lord Vishnu also known as Krishna, Kesava, Narayana and many other names. One of the forms of worship is, cleaning our front yards, sprinkling the cow dung mixed in water, and then drawing beautiful Rangolis welcoming the Lord-all this before sun rise. So we get up very early in the morning, take bath and do all this chanting the Lords name.

Some special Rangolis are drawn during this entire month. These Rangolis are drawn with the help of lines or free hand and dots are not used. This is peculiar to Andhra and Tamilnadu states. Here too the Rangolis of Andhra differ from that of TamilNadu as those from Andhra depict or relate to agriculture and are drawn as thanks giving to the Sun who helps the farmers in getting a good crop. These(some) Rangolis are specially drawn during this month and are known as Nela Muggulu. They depict various crops like the paddy ears, pumkins, pathways, different animals and birds etc. Chariot or Ratham Rangolis have a special significance.

You can see the link here where I posted such Rangolis:

http://summersofindia.blogspot.in/search/label/Nela%20Muggulu

These days people unaware of all these things are drawing Rangolis using dots and also because these are easy to draw and can be filled with colours. These traditional Rangolis are on the verge of extinction.

The transit of Sun into the zodiac sign of Makara or Capricorn is celebrated as Makara Sankranti-an agricultural festival. This is a three day festival. One of the main things is drawing of Rangolis.

Ok for now I am posting Rangolis with dots. But I will a also try to post more of our traditional ones too.

15 to 1 straight dots. Join as shown.

Watch out for more new designs.......

Please drop in you suggestions, comments or queries...I would be glad to know your responses......

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Storage for Bangles

Bangles are one of the important item of jewellery for Indian women. They come in many shapes, sizes, materials and colours. I am so fond of them that i have quite a collection. Every time I buy a dress or a sari, I try to buy matching bangles. it is also considered auspicious to buy bangles when we visit temples or go on pilgrimages.  Moreover, young girls, and married women are gifted bangles on various occasions.

Well buying is one thing storing is entirely another. I had a wooden bangle stand. I can store 3 rows on each side.

Then I also used a plastic rectangular container with a lid as the wooden one was not enough. I had to use thick paper separators cut out of card stock to keep the bangles in rows. 

But this was not enough. I searched for a better solution. Boxes padded with velvet were available in various sizes.They are very beautiful and colourful, some richly decorated with laces, coloured stone etc.  But the problem was that the padding was outside too. This would attract a lot of dust and maintaining them is a real headache. So now I bought these made of fiber.

This is how it looks. Made of fiber sheets. The edges are rather sharp. I need to do something about them as I hurt my fingers more than once. It also looks very fragile. I was not really satisfied with the make or the material. But my bangles will be safe from the dust. It is also easy to wipe off any dust or stains from the box. So i just went for them.

It has 6 rods made of soft plastic. I was not too sure that they would hold the weight of some heavier bangles. But I had no choice.

 It has latches to close the box.

This is how I arranged my bangles, carefully managing and balancing the weight of heavier ones and taking care not to pile up all heavier one in one row.

I filled up both the boxes and my wooden stand very tightly and am still left with some more bangles. Need to buy another one.....

All in all though I am not entirely satisfied with the make or the material, the boxes perfectly fit the space in my cupboard and my budget too. All in all it was a good purchase.....  

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Hi

Hello to you all my friends. I am still busy with my work and not able to do much with my crafts nor my blog. I am still organizing all my craft supplies and WIP craft and art projects(in various stages). I am still struggling  with storage solutions.

From 16th of December, the auspicious month of Dhanurmaasam starts. So we have to do our best to draw new Rangolis which are creative, beautiful sometimes big sometimes small depending on the area of our front yards. Well I have already started creating new designs. So brace yourselves. From 15th December, I am going to post new Rangolis daily till Pongal. At least I will try to post as much and as many as I can. 

You are also welcome to send in any designs of Rangolis, so that we all can share it. You can mail me the photos of the Rangolis along with details of no of dots used etc. 

Till then I am taking a break and will not post Rangolis.

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