Kolam- Psychological outlet

Abhinaya Darpanam of Nandikeshwara says:

Yatho Hasta thatho Drishti, 

Yatho Drishti thatho Manah 

Yatho Manah thatho Bhaava, 

Yatho Bhaava thatho Rasa.”

Where the hands(hasta) are, go the eyes (drishti);

where the eyes are, goes the mind (manah);

where the mind goes, there is an expression of inner feeling (bhaava)

and where there are emotions, mood or sentiment (rasa) is evoked. 

This is not only true to the practice of dance but also true to the practice of drawing kolams. Each kolam drawn has its own sentimental value. In days where the women’s emotions are suppressed and are not so easily let down, the habit of drawing kolam each morning helps her to find a let out process. It has been used as a psychological defence mechanism for women through many decades. The full power of what to draw, how to draw and how to decorate what she has drawn is with her and she exhibits this power very happily. Even when she is not in the mood to draw and begins to put the kolam reluctantly as a duty, the art grabs her gradually and she forgets herself and she somehow gets clear emotionally and gets ready for the day. 

Women express their needs, intentions and aspirations through the presence of Kolam. Its presence in the household surpasses the Indian social norm of understanding women as silent and compromising to all situations in the house and the public. 

Drawing kolam is like cooking food. It takes a long time to make the kolam from the point of mindful planning to the visual expression. There are special ways and means in the preparation of Kolam just as the preparation of food. At the final stage of the preparation, a kolam is “Consumed” by the family members, neighbours, people passing by and the minor creatures who eat the rice powder. So it also functions as a “food” for others in a different sense. Sometimes it is just a habit of eating and sometimes you enjoy and relish what you eat. The same can be said for the consumption of kolam. Whatever it may be, the food is always prepared and also the kolam is always done irrespective of the consumers state of mind.