How to make rangoli powder at home
After purchasing the white rangoli powder from the local market , sieve using a fine sieve to remove solid particles. Add rice flour to white rangoli powder - the ratio is for one part rice flour add three parts rangoli powder to get the advantages of both rice flour and rangoli.
In countries like United States and probably European countries white rangoli powder may not be available. We can make rangoli powder at home by mixing one part of rice flour and one part of powdered salt. The patterns drawn with this mixture are almost similar to rangoli powder drawn patterns. It can be used on wooden and tiled floors. The disadvantage is we cannot use on wet floor due to the presence of salt.
Why do we draw rangoli near the gas stove at night
In our tradition and culture , we see God in everything . Food is Anna Lakshmi for us. So kolam before the stove is to show our gratitude for the prosperity bestowed upon us - that we are able to take good food every day.
On the practical side , when my mother was young , she said there was no electricity in many places and so insects etc. used to settle inside the aduppu . Kolam drawn with rice flour probably drew out the insects from the stove. Those days cooking started early in the morning at 4 am because fire wood stoves took a long time to become hot and cooking was also delayed. It was common to find houses with chimneys for the smoke coming out of the stove to escape to the atmosphere.
By drawing a kolam with rice flour near the stove , food for the insects etc was also provided along with other obvious benefits.
All the rangoli use 6 by 6 dot pattern that are commonly used in Maharastrian rangoli with dots for Diwali
Diwali dots rangoli | Square rangoli designs
6 dots kolam or 6 dots muggulu for Diwali
6 pulli 6 varisai kolangal
After five comes six (!) and hence this post for six dots rangolis.
This is the latest and newest addition to this category of rangoli designs, the dot pattern is 6 by 6. This rangoli is quite common and can be found at the entrance of many homes in Tamil Nadu. The black and white photos of the rangoli showing the steps below.
![rangoli-designs6-dots-2310.jpg]( "draw the lines after placing the dot pattern")
![rangoli-designs-6-dots-2310a.jpg]( "draw the outer floral petal like patterns")
![rangoli-6-dots-1.jpg]( "use the central dots to join the outer three floral petals on four sides")
Complete the rangoli and add simple decorations inside the floral petals to make a simple rangoli attractive and beautiful. This design can also be used if you are looking for a small kolam of Margazhi or Pongal or for that matter New Year
![rangoli-6-dots-2310.jpg]( "completed rangoli with more decorations to make it more beautiful")
This is the latest and newest addition to this category of rangoli designs, the dot pattern is 6 by 6. This rangoli is quite common and can be found at the entrance of many homes in Tamil Nadu. The black and white photos of the rangoli showing the steps below.
Complete the rangoli and add simple decorations inside the floral petals to make a simple rangoli attractive and beautiful. This design can also be used if you are looking for a small kolam of Margazhi or Pongal or for that matter New Year
Using the same 6 by 6 dot pattern and the same outer floral petal designs we can change the central pattern to a flower to get the kolam as shown in the steps below
The difference between this kolam and the previous kolam in the outer floral petals is that while I have drawn 3 petals in the previous kolam, in this design there are four petals
Above -The next rangoli in this series with six dots A simple design symmetric patterns with few colours. The patterns on the four sides are drawn as shown in the video. Then connect them to the central design. Add a few petal on the four edges. and fill up with a few colours. The videos for these designs are there in my YouTube channel Rangolisansdots All the rangoli patterns above are suitable to be used as Navratri rangoli for kolu, aren't they. Two intermediate steps shown on the right
Some kolam videos with 6 dots from my kolam Channel
The next rangoli using 6 dot grid is a plain white design. The dot pattern is 6 by 6. As is obvious from the images it is a very simple design using simple patterns and can be used as a daily rangoli design. Two intermediate stages of the kolam are shown below.
![6-dots-rangoli.jpg]( "simple rangoli design")
![6-dots-rangoli-a.jpg]( "the beginning of the kolam")
![6-dot-rangoli-b.jpg]( "kolam nearing completion")
Paisley designs are also used in rangoli with dots. They can be drawn using a portion of the dot pattern or can be drawn free hand outside the dot grid. In this rangoli I have used three dots on each corner of the dot grid to draw the paisley design. It is a 6 by 6 dot grid. The rangoli is show in three steps. In the first step the patterns shown are drawn leaving the central dots and the ones at the corners for Paisleys. The dots at the centre have been used to get lamps designs. The completed rangoli is shown in the third step.
![rangoli-paisley-design-1.jpg]( "6 dot paisley pattern rangoli")
![kolam-152-d.jpg]( "6 dots design")
The kolam shown in the photo below uses a 6 by 6 dot grid. After placing the dot grid draw the four patterns including the paisley (or mangai design in Tamil ). At the centre use the two by two dot grid to draw the designs in purple. Around this the deepam design is drawn with the remaining dots. The gaps have been filled with kolam powder to make the kolam appear complete. The steps have been shown in the previous pic. We can add more decorations after filling up the colours. I have added a few lines in yellow.
![Diwali-lotus-rangoli-1010a.jpg]( "a lotus rangoli showing the side view of the lotus")
![Diwali-lotus-rangoli-1010ab.jpg]( "draw the four petals at the centre on four side")
![Diwali-lotus-rangoli-1010ac.jpg]( "the next step in this rangoli")
![Diwali-lotus-rangoli-1010ad.jpg]( "petals drawn draw a spiral at the centre")
![Diwali-lotus-rangoli-1010ai.jpg]( "use the remaining dots to decorate and connect at the centre")
Some videos of kolam with 6 dots including some designs in this post are in my YouTube channel Rangolisansdots
Some kolam videos with 6 dots from my kolam Channel
Paisley designs are also used in rangoli with dots. They can be drawn using a portion of the dot pattern or can be drawn free hand outside the dot grid. In this rangoli I have used three dots on each corner of the dot grid to draw the paisley design. It is a 6 by 6 dot grid. The rangoli is show in three steps. In the first step the patterns shown are drawn leaving the central dots and the ones at the corners for Paisleys. The dots at the centre have been used to get lamps designs. The completed rangoli is shown in the third step.
The same kolam with filled with different colours
The kolam shown in the photo below uses a 6 by 6 dot grid. After placing the dot grid draw the four patterns including the paisley (or mangai design in Tamil ). At the centre use the two by two dot grid to draw the designs in purple. Around this the deepam design is drawn with the remaining dots. The gaps have been filled with kolam powder to make the kolam appear complete. The steps have been shown in the previous pic. We can add more decorations after filling up the colours. I have added a few lines in yellow.
Simple lotus rangoli designs for Diwali
With just a six dot pattern , we can draw a beautiful rangoli at the entrance or at a place inside for Diwali decoration. I have drawn the white rangoli design with 6 by 6 dot pattern. We can add pink colours for the lotus or even blue. We can draw in on the floor or use a colour rangoli for contrasting background. It is yet to fully bloom lotus , the side view , with just six dots when we draw four lotuses this what we can achieve !
Your next stop for small kolam with dots !