Hues & Strokes: चैत्रांगण...एक रांगोळीची परंपरा

Anjali Bhand

Pune, India

Rangoli | 24" x 24"

When I hear "Chaitrangan," I picture my mother, our home, the small courtyard in front of it, and the tulsi vrindavan. Every morning, my mother would draw a neat rangoli in front of the tulsi.

In the month of Chaitra, from Chaitra Shuddha Tritiya to Vaishakh Shuddha Tritiya, she would draw the Chaitrangan. It has close to 50-60 small rangoli designs, also called प्रतीके (pratike) or symbols. These small rangolis would fill up our whole courtyard. The symbols represent knowledge, prosperity, protection, and fertility.

I learned rangoli and Chaitrangan from my mother, and I've kept that tradition going — the only difference is I draw the Chaitrangan in the devghar (puja room). I've drawn as many of the प्रतीके here as I know.

This English translation has been written with the assistance of AI tools. To read the original article, please click HERE.