CHITRAKALA

The Rangoli Ladies of Sivakasi

"My mother-in-law, Meenakshi Ammal has been my big support. She would cook delicious food for the complete family. She would make me sit down and serve me with her own hands. I am truly fortunate to have been blessed with such a wonderful family. The kids would always call her ‘Ayamma’ and be with her. I have moved to a new house in the same compound and I miss her by the hour. She stays next door and is always ready to take care of us. I was born in Rajapalayam and moved to Sivakasi after my wedding. Sivakasi is a fantastic place. You can see everything - from Zumba to Carnatic music here. One can taste all kinds of food in Sivakasi. It is a unique city. We are really lucky to live here," stated Kanmani Praburaj while sharing details about her Rangoli activity in the Pillaiyar (Ganesha) Temple at Palaniandavarpuram. The Rangoli lady was born to Suratha and Prithivirajan of Rajapalayam. She had done a B.Sc. in Maths from A. K. D. R. Women's College. Kanmani was good with creating Kolams and Rangoli from her school days. She had won prizes by participating in drawing contests during her college days. Kanmani won an inter-collegiate event and received a prize from the veteran leader G. K. Mooppanar. 

Kanmani began drawing in the school board. She had been in charge of the board decoration those days. Now she draws Rangoli Kolams in the Pillaiyar Temple at Sivakasi during festive occasions. "Our Pillaiyar Temple is famous for Rangoli. People will take pictures of the Rangoli and send it all over the world. Many of these pictures became status and display pictures (dp) too. Kids going to school in auto rickshaws would stop in the Pillaiyar Temple in order to see the colourful Rangoli art. In fact, the cracker Rangoli made by me became viral, thanks to my son's friend Bharat Ramanan of the Krishna Fire Works family. The picture went viral immediately. People loved it and it was the time when a protest for protecting the fireworks of Sivakasi was taking place," added Kanmani. 

The Rangoli Lady has a team - Sivasakthi, Vidya, Selvi, and the little Vayuna. The little girl is known for her interest in working on Rangoli based on Thanjavur paintings. Kanmani is getting the youngsters into Rangoli. Her team is ready at the temple by 4:15 AM and work on the Rangoli until 5:30 AM. These ladies are usually up by 3:45 AM, have a bath and rush to the temple. "Marghazi (Tamil month) is time when we would do one Rangoli for each of the days. We begin with one depicting the Poetess Divine Andal. Creating the Rangoli and doing Pulli (dots) Kolams helps us get relief from stress. We get nice vibrations during this period. All of us keep ourselves prepared with the Rangoli powder and I plan the subject just one day before. I ruminate on the concept the full day. We get upset once the month of Marghazi gets over. The month is the time when people do bhajans early in the morning," smiled Kanmani, the happy and proud resident of Sivakasi.

Kanmani Arts is famous in Sivakasi. Her work is on the internet. She teaches art, Kolam, and Rangoli to school kids. Calligraphy is part of her forte. Her students win prizes regularly.

It is very interesting to learn more about this Rangoli Team. They work on concepts which attract kids. The team creates special Rangolis on each Independence and Republic days. Tuesdays and Fridays are for Kolams. Now they are planning to do a 'Laksha Pulli' (one hundred thousand dots) Kolam in the near future. Kanmani discovers culturally important days and creates Rangoli concepts based on them. This year's innovation happens to be a Rangoli based on the festival 'Rathasapthami'. Kanmani is learning new techniques regularly. She is doing images of Gods in Rangoli and the eyes are coming out well. People from Canada have asked her to do the deities 'Bala' & 'Kamakshi' in Rangoli. Kanmani is on the look out for the best images. She does nine deities at the time of Navarathri.

"I will normally put my mind into the concept throughout the day. All the colours will be put into the bag on the previous day. Kolams are therapeutic. One of our friends came out of depression because of her interest in Rangoli. We won the day and felt fully satisfied when a lorry load man clicked a picture of the Rangoli created by us. My sons, Nishanth and Narendran, are really appreciative of my work. All the social media initiatives are in place because of Nishanth. My mother-in-law is a good Kolam designer.  The Kolams would appear as though they are drawn with a pencil. Passers-by will be amused. She is always so full of energy. I entered the family in 1997. She still continues to run to the door if someone rings the door bell. Her help is paramount. I am truly blessed to have her. My co-sister Padmini's kids - Sowmya and Ramya draw well. They help me with my work. Well, now I must tell you about my classmate, Nandakumar, who is at ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation). He was stressed on the day of a rocket launch. Nandakumar told me that he felt calmer on seeing my Rangoli. My friends will always be on the lookout for Rangoli pictures from my end. I ask my students to put a Kolam and send the picture by WhatsApp. The posture that they get into for doing the Rangoli is very good for health," went on the Rangoli Lady. 

Kanmani recalled her days with her parents and also about the efforts they undertook before her Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. "We used to walk up to Srivilliputtur. It was to prepare us for the Parikrama. Climbing the steps of Thirunvannamalai and rushing down helped us really. Father took us through experiences. We learned through failures. As kids we would explore new things. We used to swim in the well then. It was a qualitative upbringing," mentioned Kanmani while talking about herself and Sivakasi.

The Rangoli Lady is into Yoga. She works hard everyday. Two of her Rangoli companions have done Bharatanatyam Arangetrams after their marriage. The women of Sivakasi are innovative and hard working. Kanmani had learnt drawing and painting from her Guru, Silvester Peter. This busy bee taught herself Rangoli.

The innovative Kanmani and her  Rangoli friends from Sivakasi have become famous throughout the world. The Rangoli Ladies of Sivakasi are going places. They are ambassadors of innovation from a tier three city and their achievement is praiseworthy. 