Sikku Kolam -116

A 21 dots kolam sikku kolam done during this June vacation at my parents' home. This kolam has three layers. The three layers aren't connected but seem to look as if they are connected. An easy and simple kolam. Though the dot dot is more than 20, the formation of loops and knots are easy, no tangles nor a single strand runs throughout the whole kolam.

Again from my mother's notebook. As I had said earlier, she had collected many kolams and luckily I copied down those kolams from her notebook, still missed her line kolams. I wasn't much keen to copy her line kolams, one thing is it didn't spell its cast on me, and another reason, I am not comfortable with line kolams, Still I am not out with the secret. My mother's kolam notebook served as a fair copy at the same time a rough note for her, where she had practiced kolams before drawing on the floor, so all kolams had a duplicate edition. My mother at times reminisces about the new kolam designs she had collected in her teens. She used to have a glimpse pf the kolams while she made her way to school, her eyes were on the floor scanning the dot count count and the design. She reproduced the design as soon as she entered the class. If she had missed something afternoon she made a trip to home for lunch and again glancing the kolam, made corrections and additions to the original version. This is how she had created many designs on her own keeping the original dot count as the base. Hope I had acquired that gene from her. I had copied thispepper sikku kolam while I stumbled on this kolam on my way, immediately I transformed this design on to a small bindi paper cover which was the only source of paper. Thanks to the unknown artist for this design.

Place 21 dots in the main coloumn and reduce the dot count to one by decreasing two dots for each column. The dots are placed in a straight pattern. First, take the bottom most dot as the reference point that is (0,0) and start to draw a suzhi around the and keep the loop running on the outer layer as shown. Then the next layer, more or less the design is repeated on the second layer too. In the second layer it has two strands. Now the third layer it has four individual strands, on the corners, another forming a loop around and the last connecting the centre dots of the last layer. After finishing the kolam, I needed to add some extensions so that I could fill colour it. But, I didn't have much as the clock was half past eight so wrapped up with small additions. I outlined around the kolam and drew small swirls and outlined with minarets, again those small minarets were enclosed with a bigger minaret. Four big minarets on sides altogether 16 in this kolam. For the conical shapes on the corners, I drew petaled lotuses. Now the colouring part, I chose the deep shade of purple. I just drew lines inside the border and at the centre.