quilled pookkalam

       Today is Thiruvonam ,one of the most important festivals of kerala. The celebration of onam marks the homecoming of the legendary king Mahabali .  As part of the festivity,large floral carpets(pookkalam) are made in front of the houses.


       Only last summer my friend who grew up in Kerala showed  how to make a pookkalam .She shredded the flowers and separated the petals. Flowers like Marigold ,rose and other flowers which have small petals were chosen and different colour petals were collected in different plates. A pattern is drawn with chalk and then the petals are taken handfuls and arranged according to the pattern. It is time consuming but the kolam turns out really beautiful and  fragrant. For green colour my friend chose leaves from a Gul mohar tree which have tiny leaves. Whole flowers can also be used in required areas.


      I have quilled this card to look like a pookkalam , I have crimped the strips to give the effect of small petals arranged in a pookkalam.


      Sunday morning in the front pages of the newspaper was the picture of an enormous pookkalam which has been named snehapookkalam ,a 17622 square feet floral carpet created with an aim of getting it into the Guinness Book of World records at Swapna Nagari in Kozhikode ,Kerala in connection with Onam celebrations.


    Thanks for stopping by ! have a joyous day!