Friday, October 16, 2009

Diwali Rangolis

Diwali is not just a Festival of Lights, but of colours - lots & lots of them! A major aspect of the festival that makes it so colourful are the Diwali Rangolis (designs made using a white and coloured powdery substance).

Check out more Diwali Rangoli Designs

The traditional Diwali Rangoli design is made first with basic lines of vertical and horizontal dots and then the design is created by joining the dots in the correct manner, such as for a flower, a bird, etc. Today, though, there are many innovative ways to make these same designs, thereby saving time. One such method is to use the humble flour sieve. The requisite design will be stamped on it & all you need to do is shake the white/coloured powder on it. The powder falls through the sieve and voila - your rangoli is ready!

Here is a step-by-step method, using the flour sieve [note that I have done the design on a thin wooden plank] .

Those who read this also liked: How to Make a Rangoli Design With Dots

Top 5 Tips for Rangoli Designs 
* Wear old clothes when doing the rangoli - do not start in all your Diwali finery. The rangoli powder tends to get on to you clothes, not to mention quite likely your face and hair too when you reach up to wipe some sweat!
* Yes, making a rangoli can be sweaty work; the fan or strong wind can spoil the design.
* You can make the rangoli indoors first, if you have a thin wooden plank or even a plate, and then place it outdoors at your doorstep. If working indoors, make sure you spread a newspaper on the floor and keep a smaller sheet at the side to remove the powder that remains on the sieve.
* Make sure toddlers are not around as they may put the rangoli powder in their mouths/eyes. Children should be supervised if they are trying out the design.
* Ensure that you wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.


Step1: Place the plain flour sieve on your base
Step 2: Spread white rangoli powder evenly all over the sieve surface.
I have used a small bottle-like structure that has a wire mesh at one end.Step 3: Gently lift the sieve off and brush off the powder on it on a nearby sheet of paper.
What remains on your base is a circle of white powder like this:
Step 4: Now carefully place the design sieve on the white circle. Step 5: Using the appropriate colours, fill in the different parts of the design (blue & green for the peacock, pink for the flowers, green for the leaves)

Step 6: Very gently, remove the design sieve. Voila! Your Rangoli is ready!

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