butterfly kolam

"Sumangali" means married women. It is customary, for a married hindu woman, to invite other married ladies for a religious ritual (puja), followed by a feast during festival days like Ugaadhi, Dasara and for Varalakshmi pooja. After the feast, the ladies are offered gifts which have symbols of "auspiciousness" like the turmeric, vermillion, flowers and beetle leaves (with areca nuts). This rangoli was created by Lakshmi and Bharathi. It has items like: Betal leaves (with nuts) placed with coins, fruits, cones of mehendhi or henna, flowers on plates, soaps, talcum powder boxes, colorful glass bangles, coconut oil in small plastic bottles, Kajal boxes, mini boxes of turmeric and kumkum (vermillion).