Rangoli 2011

A friend of mine had introduced me to a rangoli group at Thane last year, which is now known as 'Kala-Chhand' rangoli group, Earlier it was 'Balavant mandal'. They regularly have an exhibition of portrait rangolis during Diwali. I have been participating in the exhibition since last year. This year everyone decided to put rangoli of Indians who have significantly contributed to society in different fields, like literature, sport, music, etc. After a brief discussion on the subject, I had to choose between a writer and a music person. Initially I thought of making rangoli of a poet. I find it really amazing when someone can express the deepest emotions with just a few lines. But then after the last meeting with the group, I finally decided to make a portrait rangoli of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. There was a lot of scope for detailing as well.


Day 1(Oct 23):

We started on Oct 23rd morning by pasting the sketch on the floor.

The practice is to start filling the rangoli powder from the top left corner, then hair then the face, ending with the bottom right corner.

While doing the hair, i wasn't too happy about the way they were looking. And got a bit disheartened. It always happens to me when I decide to do things I have never done before. I tend to get skeptical in the beginning itself. And that is when I need someone who can tell me, no problem, you will do good. And luckily I had a friend, Yogesh, who kept saying "Hemali, tum achha kar rahi ho!"
Yogesh himself has made an EXCELLENT rangoli of Gulzar with brilliant composition(I wish I had a good vocab to express myself! Will share his works in my next post)

I think all of us are capable to create things that we like. We only need to have a little patience to take all of the typical beginner's bloop. A friend of mine says, that Art is like Sadhana, you need to do it everyday, with all the faith, if you truly love it and have a strong will to pursue it.

Day 2(Oct 24):

It was 11.30 pm and I was done with the forehead, eyes and basic shading of the nose. I decided and declared in the room that I will finish the whole rangoli by next day morning.

To be honest , I had lost my patience. It was Dhana Teras and I wanted to get back home and celebrate Diwali with my family, my cousins. But I was sitting in the classroom(exhibition was in the school classrooms), with the windows sealed to block the passage of air and dust, no fans, and with hot tungsten bulb at a height of 3 feet from the rangoli, which was just above my head! There were about 11-12 bulbs, one-two above each rangoli, which made the whole room really hot!

At 4.00 am i was done with the portion above the lips and the chin. But then it looked really shabby. So I decided to go back home and undo the damages next day morning.

Day 3(Oct 25):
Started at 11 in the morning and managed to complete the flute and the drapery with the background till 9 pm. I decided to stop there itself, leaving the fingers and the hand gestures, because i was really missing all the family gatherings. Anyhow, 3 days of effort was totally worth it!

Day 4(Diwali):

I went early in the morning to click pictures with my DSLR before ants,spiders and tiny insects on the floor spoil the work...!

With each of my new works, i feel i am improving on my patience. And it feels good when people appreciate the effort :) Do visit the exhibition if you have time, it is open till November 5, at New Englsih School, Ram Maruti road, Thane.
And Thanks for visiting the blog :)

~Edit~

Rangoli 2012: http://hemalivadalia.blogspot.in/2012/11/rangoli-2012.html

EDIT: 

A lot of people have mailed me asking for the address of the shops that sell these lake colors. So here is the address:

1. Get off at Kari road station, take the east bridge, and take right turn outside the bridge. Ask someone for the Bharat Mata theatre. The shop that sells lake colors is right opposite the theatre. You've to cross the road.

2. The second shop is at Masjid Bandar. Right opposite Jama masjid
The name of this shop is Enayat.

My friend Yogesh is planning to take classes for portrait rangoli. 

If you are interested in learning the techniques, here are his contact details:

email: yogb109@gmail.com

phone:+91 9819941215