5 - 5 dots chikku kolams

5 - 5 dots are the next stage in learning kolams.. There is a huge range in this section.  Though I have quite a collection, long ago I was able to make only a few on photoshop and store them on my computer which I am sharing with you now.  Like I mentioned in the 3 - 3 dots section, these kolams can also be made to look different by changing the direction to arrive at a new kolam.  Try it out and see..  For some of the kolams I have identified the sections with different colours to ease the learning process for the freshers.

3 -3 dots

Here are a few small kolams which is always some of the first kolams anyone would learn. In fact few of these were the first to my collection like this famous one. 

This can be flipped in the opposite direction to make it look like a different kolam like this..

 

This kolam can also be flipped in the opposite direction to create a new one like this..

Now here are a few 3 - 3 dot kolams which can be flipped in 4 different directions to get 4 new kolams.

I have been very passionately fond of kolams since I was a kid. I remember how I used to walk on the streets with my head bowed down, not because I was the shy kind, but because I would watch each and every kolam drawn in front of every house, trying to remember the design, so I could note it down once I returned home.  Many times I would forget the dot count or the linking design and sometimes would try to go back to the kolam drawn on the road to make a mental note of the design.  Over the years I have been lucky to save a huge collection of kolams from various books, like-minded friends, many thresholds on the streets where I have lived and now from the internet.  

This tradition of putting kolams on the floor in front of houses though a very old tradition, is recently becoming forgotton due to many reasons - lack of time, interest and space constraints.  Gone are the days where everyone had big courtyards and could relish the pleasure of displaying huge kolams almost everyday.  Big kolams have become a rare thing now, and reserved only for festivals, weddings or special occassions.  With everyone in a rush to complete their day to day work, women hardly have any time and resort to stencils, stickers or painted kolams, which lasts for a long time, saving them those few minutes in the morning when they are fighting in the kitchen to get breakfast and lunch ready at the same time.  

Being a lover of this art, I want to contribute my share to the society in preserving this beautiful tradition atleast by way of preserving the designs, types, mediums etc.

In this blog I will try to display my entire collection of kolams for everyone to not only enjoy but learn and be tempted to practice once in a while.

Trying my level best to sort out the sizes and types and hope I succeed finally in making my own library, which in turn will be useful for whoever is interested.

Do drop a line and let me know your thoughts and ideas and suggestions if any, so I can improve my blog as the days and years go by.

Thank you and happy viewing :D