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| Sapna Parekh at work |
In the run-up to Diwali, you’ll find her bent over the floor, sheets of drawings and colours scattered around. She wipes her brow (the fans are switched off), stops for a minute and looks at her work. If she smiles you know the rangoli is shaping up just the way she had it planned.
This year, Sapna Parekh’s rangoli is Radha-Krishna, her first attempt at this theme. She’s been at it for 45 hours, taking time out between her course hours (Teachers Training Course) at a private institution. “It’s my love for the art that keeps me going. I loved drawing as a kid and drawing is the first step to making a rangoli,” says Sapna, who dreams of becoming a creative arts teacher.
She starts from scratch, making the tools on her own by cutting pieces of cardboard. “I work all night as there is no disturbance. Moreover, this takes up a lot of space in the house,” she says, looking at her rangoli, which has measured up to 6.1 x 5.2 ft. But this is nothing. “I’ve made bigger rangolis before — some up to 10ft long,” says the 5’6” tall girl proudly.
Sapna spends almost a month deciding on the theme of the rangoli before setting out to buy the colours. “We spend almost Rs 1,500 purchasing around 30kg of coloured powder. There are just about 15 colours available in the market, so I use them to make various other colours and shades.”
Unlike most rangolis makers, Sapna keeps her rangoli intact for a month for family and friends to see. “During Diwali, we usually have many guests. They appreciate her work and tell others about it. Last year we had almost 500 guests visiting us just to see her rangoli. This means me running in and out of the kitchen to serve snacks to the guests,” laughs Bina, Sapna’s mother, at their Lansdowne apartment.
As her daughter returns to finish the Radha-Krishna rangoli, the doorbell rings. Yet another guest is here.
Tips to make Rangoli:
Keep a drawing of the rangoli you plan to make by your side.
Use chalk or pastel colours to draw the rangoli.
Put your colours in small boxes. It’s easier to take out colours from boxes than packets.
Keep a piece of cloth by your side and use it to wipe your hands each time you change colours.
Use a ruler to check the shape and diameter of your rangoli.
Use a sieve to fill the colours. This helps the colours spread evenly and blocks the bigger particles.
Finally, have patience! Be ready to rework a particular part if it gets spoilt.
