Have you started your Diwali prep yet?
What are your most important Diwali Prep tasks?
May be house cleaning , cooking the faral (Diwali sweet and savory food items) or making an Akashkandil ( Special decorative lantern for Diwali ) but for me one of the main tasks to prepare for is the Rangoli. Its one day in the year when I spend at least half of my day in doing what I absolutely love to do.
The most important part of drawing a Rangoli is obviously the bright and vibrant colors that make this art so beautiful. There are different forms and ways of drawing Rangoli but the colors you choose make all the difference in the look and feel of this art.
In India you’ll find myriad of choices in selecting the type and colors for Rangoli. You can just go to a store and purchase what you like for a particular occasion.
In India you’ll find myriad of choices in selecting the type and colors for Rangoli. You can just go to a store and purchase what you like for a particular occasion.
But in the US drawing any type of Rangoli requires a little bit of prep work. You cannot just go to an Indian store and buy whatever they are selling in the name of Rangoli and expect it to help you draw the exact same type as you are used to in India.
In this blog post I’m going to share my self-learned tips for selecting the perfect Rangoli color.
- Choose bright colors
This is largely a personal choice but choosing the bright colors will make your design stand out. You can use light or dull colors but trust me you’ll see a huge difference in appeal between a rangoli drawn with those vs a same rangoli drawn with bright colors.
- Rangoli colors sold in Indian Stores
Rangoli colors are “Sand” colors. So the powdered colors sold as Rangoli colors in Indian stores are not much of use for drawing a even design. Same thing with using Haldi or Kumkum in lieu of rangoli color. Any powdered color sticks to your pinch and you can not easily put it on a design. You need to mix it with white or “sand” color to give it a texture that is suitable for Rangoli. But if you mix it with white it loses it’s brightness and design loses its charm
The best rangoli colors to choose from Indian stores are the find “sand” like colors sold in packets of jars like I have shown here. Just to compare the Rangoli colors should match the texture of “Fine Sooji”you buy from the same grocery stores and should not be the texture of a flour(Atta)
- All Sand colors cannot be used for traditional Rangoli
I have experimented with several Sand colors that you find in American stores and I can tell you that all sand colors that you find in local craft stores cannot be used for traditional rangoli.
The main use of sand color in US homes is for decorations. They fill in small containers with different colors and use them as home arrangements. Or in weddings they use mason jars filled with sand colors as table centerpieces. So long the colors are bright , the texture of the sand itself doesn’t matter for their purpose.But the texture of sand color we use for Rangoli makes all the difference in the way the overall design looks.
- Best Sand colors I like and where to find them
I have tried several sand colors over the years and from my trial and error the best one I found is the Tree House brand Sand color that you find in Hobby Lobby. Its 2.99$ per bottle. Here is the link for your reference
It has vibrant colors and you can mix the primary colors to make different shades as you need.
Another best sand color I found were in one of the Indian grocery stores but it is rare to find and like I mentioned before, not all sand colors they sell are good for rangoli. Here is a picture of the one I like.
The White Rangoli
The most important of all the colors is the White Rangoli. I make it a point to bring White Rangoli in bulk from India whenever I travel. Now a days its also available on amazon but I haven’t tried it yet since I have a stock.
Do you have any other experiences with Rangoli colors in USA? What is your favorite brand of colors to use?
