: Tamil Artist Uses Kolam to Transform Couples Home, Paints 55 Panels in a Week #IndiaNEWS In southern India, it’s common to see women drawing intricate patterns or kolams every morning just outside

Tamil Artist Uses Kolam to Transform Couples Home, Paints 55 Panels in a Week #IndiaNEWS
In southern India, it’s common to see women drawing intricate patterns or kolams every morning just outside their front door.
The kolam is drawn at the threshold of one’s home using rice flour which serves as food for ants and birds. The purpose of doing so? To attract success, good health and wealth, and ward off evil. Sadly, over the years, the number of people practising this art form has been slowly reducing.
Bucking those trends, a couple from the temple town of Madurai, Tamilnadu, had their home’s compound wall painted with traditional kolams and colourful rangolis.
Elangovan K painting the compound wall.
The couple said they did it to spread awareness about the age-old tradition and provide a livelihood to a struggling artist.
“During the lockdown, I watched a video of a lady painting her home using cow dung and drawing warli designs over it using terracotta and white-coloured paint. This made me wonder if anyone had done something similar with kolams in Madurai, a rich art and culture city. We spoke to a city-based painter whom we were friends with, and even drove around the city looking for such paintings on compound walls,??? says Aruna Visesvar (66), who is the founder of Adhyapana CBSE school along with her husband Visesh Aiyer (73).
Aruna Visesvar (66), and her husband Visesh Aiyer (73).
Finding the artist
Early in September 2020, Aruna was approached by a friend trying to find employment for an underprivileged artist named Elangovan K.
“He had not earned money in six months and was desperate to find a job. Initially, he wanted to know if I required any work done at my school. However, when I asked him to show his drawings, I was impressed with it and decided to hire him and paint kolams at my home in Sathya Sai Nagar,??? says Aruna in an interview with The Better India.
On a trial basis, Elangovan, the resident of a nearby village named Malappuram came down to Madurai. Aruna provided him with a kolam design she had printed and asked him to replicate it on the wall. He spent a few hours making a sketch and painting it.
“It was flawless. He did the drawings with one brush stroke, kept his work station clean, and was quick,??? says Aruna, adding that they requested Elango to paint one compound wall that spreads across 100 meters in their home. The wall has 20 partitions, and Elango completed 55 drawings within one week.
How did he do it
Elangovan is a native of a village named Malappuram located in the outskirts of Madurai. For the last 25 years, the 54-year-old was involved in painting houses, billboards, temple walls, and signboards. However, he was also good at drawing maps, scenic landscapes, portraits of famous leaders, making him famous among corporation schools in the city.

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