Rangoli may be an ephemeral art, destined to be swept away once it is created on the floor. But in the lines and dots, in the flow of curves and colours, rangolis contain a whole vocabulary of philosophy, values, ethics and beliefs. Rangoli art is a manifestation of the beliefs and customs of different population groups living in different parts of the country. One of the important aspects of Indian culture, the art has remained in the folk memory and its everyday manifestation has preserved its continuity. The women of India have kept this art alive by passing the expertise down through the generations. At our Online Talk #TemporaryBeauty, art historian Dr Nayana Tadvalkar unravels aspects of the art of rangoli that are shrouded in mystery.

About the speaker

Dr. Nayana Tadvalkar is a Textile Designer, a Museologist and an Art Historian. After working in the Textile industry for few years, she completed her Masters in Fine Arts and eventually earned her Ph.D. from the Department of History, SNDT Women’s University. Her Doctoral and Post-Doctoral research on Rangoli art is published in Marathi under the title ‘Rangoli: Kalatmak Saundaryacha Vedh’. She has been a Museum Consultant for the proposed ‘Museum of Cotton’ by the Cotton Association of India, in Mumbai. Currently she is a Visiting Faculty to teach Indian and Western Art History at Sophia Polytechnic and Rachana Sansad College of Applied Art and Craft. She is also working on her own independent research projects.