With just a month left for Diwali, learn how to make different rangoli patterns.

Fresh Colours: Reflection of Art This centre teaches 10-12 types of rangoli designs. The popular ones include bangles rangoli, permanent rangoli, rangoli with coloured suji and rice,

and, fresh flower and water rangoli. The most sought after type of rangoli here is the manjhna type. This rangoli is made on a plak of wood and is for decorative purposes. Such rangoli patterns also form the rangoli platters, which are taught and sold here. Students are expected to get their own material to the class.

Where: B-6/6 ,Near Raghunath Mandir, Lal Quarter, Krishna Nagar
Contact: 011-66435231
Cost: Rs 750

Creative World Hobby Classes

Come here to learn the traditional and typical designs of rangoli. With only four types of rangoli art forms being taught here, this school emphasises on perfection and not variety. Only five to seven students are inducted per class, as the school wants to give personal attention to their students. The types of rangoli taught here include, powder, buraada (powdered wood), fresh flowers and water rangoli. The class is usually one week long. For Diwali, the school is also offering courses on candle-making and chocolate-making.
Where: C-467 Opp District Park, Sarita Vihar
Contact: 9810304372
Cost: Rs 1,500

Kalakriti Hobby Classes

These hobby classes are for those who want to go for a crash course to learn any one type of rangoli. The teachers here teach the art of rangoli-making in as less as a day’s time. So, if you don’t have much time to spare, then head to these classes. The types of rangoli taught here include sand, fresh flowers and water. The school plans to hold special classes for the festival of Diwali and has started receiving requests for the same.
Where: M - 311 Guru Harkishan Nagar, Paschim Vihar
Cost: Depends on the type of the rangoli
Contact: 9818522255

Chhabra Hobby Classes

Join these classes if you want to take up rangoli-making as a profession, or if you just want to make it a hobby. The hobby course, which is five days long, will help you learn how to make only sand rangoli. The method is taught to the students using mediums like cardboard cut outs and tracing. Under the professional course, the students are taught five types of rangoli sand, fresh flowers, coloured stone, waste material and water. The water rangoli is making designs with sand or flowers on water, which requires a special technique that is taught here.
Where: ZP 55 Maurya Enclave, Pitampura
Contact: 9910007009
Cost: Rs 1,000 (hobby), Rs 2,500 (professional)

Rangoli designs

Sunita, one of our viewers, writes: We make rangolis, which are colourful geometric shapes filled with coloured rice or sand. Thanks Sunita!
Rangoli is a popular art form among Indian women. Rangoli are painted on the ground in front of houses using colored rice powder -- sometimes supplemented by flower petals and other colorful materials. Rangoli are typically painted during the tamil month of Maarkazhi (between December 15th and January 15th).

Hindu Legend: During the month of Maarkazhi, the Goddess Andal prayed to Lord Thirumal to marry her. Her wish came true and others also began to pray to have the husband of their dreams. During this month, unmarried women paint rangolis to welcome Lord Thirumal in hopes that they will have the same good fortune as Andal.

Instructions:

Print out template of choice

Color the design (see options for coloring below)

Options for Coloring:

- pastel crayons and poster paint both have nice bright colors and make terrific choices for young children coloring in the rangoli.
- Salt glitter is another interesting choice. It's a little messy, but some kids like a bit of a mess when they craft.
- colored rice is another choice:

real rangoli are typically made with a rice paste, which makes colored rice is a nice option

To food color rice,

add a healthy amount of food coloring to two 1 tsp of rubbing alcohol in a ziploc
bag.
Pour in about 3/4 cup of UNCOOKED rice.
Close the bag
Shake well (like shake and bake)
Pour onto a piece of wax paper or tinfoil to dry (put it in a cookie sheet so it doesn't accidentally get
knocked on the floor)
Making the colored rice is messy and food color doesn't come out of clothes well... the shaking part can be
done by kids, but the rest should be done by an adult.
I like using food coloring PASTE instead of drops as I find the color is richer, but drops work too.
Let dry (about 1/2 a day -- less if you spread them out well in a warm airy place) -- once again, I never listen
to my own advice... our rice had about 5 minutes to dry before we used it... we just made sure to have a
damp rag to wash off our hands.