Framing Rangoli

Eight years since,Mate has recently been honoured with a PhD in Art and Gender Antiquity for research and development in art history of rangoli and rangoli fresco from the American University,California,USA.

Mate says she visited libraries and read many books that recorded the history of making rangolis before enrolling for the PhD programme. “I wanted to explore a way of framing rangolis and showing it to the world. But it was difficult as it is made on a flat surface with powdered colours. A little wind or a careless step is enough to damage a rangoli,so how does one showcase it in a frame? I went and explored the wet fresco method of painting which was used to make the paintings in Ajanta and Ellora caves and then studied ways of modifying it to fit this dry art,” says the 59-year-old.

After much research,five years later,she came up with a dry fresco method which involves an eight-layer technique to draw rangoli on a canvas. Fresco-making is a method of making an artificial surface that is suitable for holding the paint or the desired form of colour. During her research about the ancient wall paintings,she found that the way to make a fresco surface was scripted in the Sanskrit vedas. “The artists would gather limestone and put it into a well to soak for two years and stir it with a huge stick every two-three days. This would result in a thick mixture that would be plastered on the wall before painting on it. The limestone mix,almost like a gravy,would hold onto the wall and the paint. This made paintings last more than 2,000 years,” she explains,adding that this process inspired her to come up with a method of making dry frescoes.

In course of her research,Mate also studied the meanings of different shapes and motifs used while making a rangoli. While a dot represents divinity and is considered a form of Ganesha,a circle represents perfection and progress. “The dispersed dots of rangoli simulate the conflict of human mind,waiting to find the right direction,” she says.