Madurai :

Young women transforming small dots into beautiful ‘kolams’ was a common sight early in the morning, especially during ‘Margazhi’, till a few years back. Not any more. Busy with daily chores, the young have decided to outsource the work to elderly women, who have taken up ‘kolam’ drawing as a profession.

The Tamil month of Margazhi is considered auspicious for girls. It is believed they would get a good spouse if they draw beautiful ‘kolams’ at their doorsteps and visit temple. Times have changed. Girls busy with studies or jobs find it difficult to attend early morning poojas in temples. Similarly, drawing beautiful, intricate designs in front of the house braving the morning chill is an ordeal that many wish to avoid. Here enters, middle-aged and older women, who have ample time and the necessary skills to do kolams.

Kannathal, a 78-year-old resident of Melamadai, starts her day at 4.30am and covers nearly 15 houses in Gomathypuram in Madurai. Some house-owners leave a bucket of water and a broom outside their gates so that she does not have to wake them early morning. The enterprising woman says drawing kolam is the only thing she is good at. “I don’t know to read or write. But, I was taught to draw kolam by my grandmother when I was just five years old. Now, the art has come handy as it helps me to earn a good sum even at this age,” she said.

For smaller kolams Kannathal collects Rs 450 per month and for bigger ones the rate is Rs 800. “As I’m not good at drawing colour kolams, I take the help of a girl from my colony. I pay her Rs 250 per house,” she said.

Mariamma, a resident of Villapuram, has been drawing kolam for others for the past one year. “Customers started demanding colour patterns very recently. I charge them Rs 900 during Margazhi and Rs 550 during other months. Putting colour in patterns consumes a lot of time,” she said. Her earnings from kolam art have already crossed Rs 15,000 this month. The kolam experts are so much in demand in the city that they are now outsourcing the orders they have received.

Girahalakshmi, a resident of Valluvar Colony in Madurai, admitted a kolam is a must during Margazhi. “Kolam has to be drawn before dawn. Getting out of the house at dawn is risky due to crimes such as chain-snatching. By paying a monthly sum I can get the kolam drawn by another,” she said.

Sumathy, a newly-married woman, says she was happy to learn that her in-laws has employed a kolam artiste. “Firstly, I can’t draw kolam and moreover, the early morning weather is too cold,” she said.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai> Colour / by Padmini Sivarajah, TNN / January 09th, 2014