Contests!

We are now in the middle of the dIpAvaLi rangOli contest. Looks like the enthusiasm is reasonable. I always wonder about these and similar contests. Of course, America is built on competition. The motto of America is - be all the best you can! Unfortunately, in this country as well as in many other countries only the best are respected. The adjectives here are the biggest, the largest, the grandest, the richest, the best, etc. I think, you get my point. Many a time the first and the best are revered and the rest are thrown into the basket like yesterday's worn clothes. I like the approach taken in the elementary schools. All the kids are recognised at the end. The lessons of participation are stressed there. Even though one person is the winner, for that individual to win, several persons have to participate. Otherwise it will become like the elections in countries ruled by the dictators! At the end of all these, while everybody is happy about the winner, in some little corner of everybody's heart, there is a wee bit of what if feeling. Nobody is beyond this. We are all human and we are not perfect. Personally, I don't worry about this for an entirely different reason. I honestly believe this competition must be only for the hand drawn ones, not for computer creations or other mechanically aided patterns. It is very easy for me to say that something is wrong here or there. I am completely conscious of the fact that they are drawn on floor in real time with real powder or flour or colour. While the mind wants to be perfect, the hands may shake once in a while a little bit or the wind may blow the powder off or a child may step on it. I offer my tributes to all those souls who employed their hands and hearts in creating some of these amazing patterns. On the other hand people like me enjoy the fun, pretending to be wise which they are not But for the real artists, there is always the next time or in the Indian philosophy, the next life.

Regards! - mOhana

The accompanying rangOli is for rAjammAji's pleasure For the top left and bottom right, the patterns are similar (but for a mirror), but the contacts are different. For the top and bottom right, the contacts are similar, but the symmetry is different.