Jain Spirit 1999 10 No 02

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 33

ART
ART WITH DETACHMENT Rangoli Painting in Kenya
decorations made on the entrances and walls of houses to brighten up and add colour to occasions being celebrated, like weddings, births and significant religious days. They also signified a warm welcome for visitors. In fact in Maharashtra, India, housewives make them each morning. The designs would be simple and geometrical but could invoke symbolic forms. Oil lamps (diyas) would be placed in the rangoli to give it yet another dimension.
Vinay Shah explores the great renaissance in Rangoli floor
painting engendered by Jains in Kenya, and talks to its pioneering experts, Mrs. Vibha Shah and Mrs. Pushpa Haria.
As the Jains and specifically the Oshwals migrated and settled in East Africa, community institutions were established. Celebration of Diwali and New Year (far away from India) became times for everyone to get together and participate in the activities to create the festive atmosphere. This is how rangolis as we know them today took root in Kenya. In fact, annual rangoli competitions have been held there for decades and Jains of all ages from children upwards, participate in these. These competitions have proved to be an excellent way of spreading the art and encouraging its growth and innovation,
A unique and pathbreaking innovation was the Display Rangoli, revived in Mombasa by the Oshwals. Mrs. Vibhaben Arun Shah, a leading and prominent rangoli artist and her team have more than 15 large display rangolis to their credit, the largest being 45 feet in diameter. The very act of doing these rangolis required a tremendous community spirit.
Display rangoli by Pushpa Haria & team: “Jain Darshan"
*Rangoli' is a sanskrit word which means a creative expression of art through the use of colour. In ancient India, rangolis were used to decorate the entrances of homes, a floor-painting which provided a warm and colourful welcome to visitors. In Indian cultures, all guests and visitors occupy a very special place, and a rangoli is an expression of this warm hospitality. In particular, the Diwali festival is widely celebrated with rangolis, since at this time, people visit each other's homes to exchange greetings and sweets.
In an interview with Jain Spirit, Mrs. Vibha Shah talked passionately about rangoli, 'I can drop anything to take a rangoli project. She has to her credit magnificent display rangolis created by the 'Rang Rekha' group she heads. "Jain themes have always been our first choice, the 14 'dreams' of Trishlamata, Lord Mahavir, Parshvanath; in fact all our rangolis have some Jain content". Vibha explained: The logistics of display rangolis are quite complex, and require
Close-up of "Jain Darshan"
In a rangoli, powdered colours are sprinkled on cleaned and dusted floors to form decorations. Rangolis can be vivid three-dimensional art complete with shadings or they can be the traditional plain, yet as beautiful, twodimensional designs. The coloured powder is usually applied 'freehand' by letting it run from the gap formed by pinching the thumb and the forefinger. Techniques have evolved over time and now the use of the cone, sieve and funnel are popular. A few very talented artists actually throw the colour, and the end results are stunning works of art. The materials can be virtually anything that fancies the rangoli maker, but more traditionally it is 'chiroli' marble dust to which pigments have been added. Finely ground maize (corn) flour which has been subsequently 'dyed', grass and gravel have also been used. Petals of flowers grains and pulses have been used to form attractive and unusual designs.
In ancient times, rangolis were actually
32 Jain Spirit . October - December 1999