When an Indian housewife grabs a small powder bowl early in the morning, it does not necessarily mean she wants makeup. Because in many, especially south Indian areas, the women in the morning in front of the front door, bend down and begin with rice powder to draw a complex pattern on the floor. The resulting surfaces are then filled with color, or just leave as they are.

As this activity is done on a daily basis, women have routine in it and can even draw complex „rice powder patterns“ in no time. On special occasions, however, colorful, huge works of art, freehand and without templates, made.

This tradition, called „Ragnoli“, is supposed to bring happiness to the house and the family. In addition to the powder of ground rice, the color powders were obtained from natural substances such as green leaves or turmeric. Unfortunately, many artificial colors are already used today, but the rice powder is still a fixed component of the Ragnoli.

As Risolier, I find this cultural phenomenon particularly impressive. Art with and by Rice – if you want to know more about it – in a previous blog post I report on the Japanese tradition of Tambo Art , in which rice fields produce images through the cultivation of various rice varieties.

Rice, a food from and with which people in Asia live …