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Onam: Flower Carpets And Rangoli Design Ideas That You Can Try On This Day

By Subodini Menon

Onam is perhaps the most popular celebration in the state of Kerala. It marks the harvest season when the grains from the paddy fields will be cut and brought into the granaries. It is the season that gives fruits of the yearlong labour to the farmers.

Legend has it that Onam is celebrated to welcome Kerala's beloved King Mahabali. The story tells us that Lord Maha Vishnu took an avatar as Vamana and pushed the King into the netherworld.

But seeing that the King was just and loved by his citizens, he allowed the King one day to visit his country. Thus on Onam, King Mahabali visits Kerala to see his country and countrymen.

Onam Flower Carpet And Rangoli Design Ideas

On this occasion, the people of Kerala make flower carpets to welcome King Mahabali. They also make rangolis around the area where the image of King Mahabali is placed and worshipped.

People can choose the duration during which they adorn their doorways with flower carpets. Some make flower carpets for a month before the day of Thiruvonam. Some choose to do it for 10 days, 3 days or only on the day of Thiruvonam. It depends upon the situation and convenience of the people. No matter what, the grandest flower carpet is made on the day of Thirvonam.

These flower carpets and rangolis are a huge part of the Onam celebrations. People often vie with each other on whose flower carpet is the biggest and the most beautiful. Competitions are held annually during the Onam season to find the winner.

On the occasion of Onam, we shall give you some ideas that can make your flower carpets and rangolis unique and beautiful. Try some of these out to be the envy of your neighbourhood.

The Simple But Majestic Flower Carpet

The Simple But Majestic Flower Carpet

This carpet doesn't need many colours. You also do not need an elaborate design to have the best looking flower carpet. It is not very time-consuming either.

Just arrange unbroken flowers in a circular shape and fill in the gap, inside the circle, similarly with a different coloured flower. Repeat the process till you reach the centre. Decorate with white rangoli powder for additional colour.

The Half Flower Carpet

The Half Flower Carpet

If you live in an apartment, space might be a constraint for an elaborate and full flower carpet. Choose to make a half flower carpet at your door way instead. It saves space and looks sophisticated too.

The Flower Carpet To Adorn Your Pooja Area

The Flower Carpet To Adorn Your Pooja Area

This is another variation of the half flower carpet. This is ideal for families that have no doorway space to speak of. Instead, they can adorn their pooja area with a flower carpet. The place where the deity is placed can be the focal point and the flower carpet can be designed around it.

The Flower Carpet For A Floral Back Ground

The Flower Carpet For A Floral Back Ground

A plain floor is ideal to make flower carpets, as it does not draw attention away from the flower carpet. But what if the area where you plan to make the flower carpet on is floral or has dome designs? This is often seen when you have tiled floors. In such cases, it is best to use colours that stand out. Arrange the flowers in a pattern that contrasts the pattern of the design of the floor.

Image Source - Pinterest

The Simple Two-coloured Flower Carpet

The Simple Two-coloured Flower Carpet

If you live in the city, it may be hard to find flowers of different colours and of your choice. It can also get expensive to buy a lot of flowers. So, you can just use flowers of two colours and

place them in a design. A simple circle looks the best for this kind of flower carpet.

The Alternate Colour Flower Carpet

The Alternate Colour Flower Carpet

This is another way where you can put just two colours into use to make a really beautiful flower carpet. Alternate the colours that you have in patterns and designs to lend an eye-catching feature to your flower carpet.

The Betel Leaf Flower Carpet

The Betel Leaf Flower Carpet

It is hard to incorporate the colour green into your flower carpet unless you use leaves for the colour. When in a city or when you live in an apartment with little to no garden, you may not find any greenery to add to your flower carpet. Just buy some betel flowers and add them to your flower carpet for a dash of green.

The Rangoli

The Rangoli

This rangoli design is simple and can be made with a few strokes of your hand. Most of the design consists of filling with colour. So, it is suitable even for a person not very skilled at making rangolis. Use scales to get straight lines.

The Simple Peacock Rangoli

The Simple Peacock Rangoli

This rangoli looks very sophisticated at first glance. But at a closer look you will see that it is pretty simple to make. It just uses a circle and a few leaf shapes to achieve this design. Use many contrasting colours for the best looking rangoli.

All Image Source:Shanthi Sridharan

Read more about: onam design rangoli indian festivals