Rangoli
A pattern made on the floor or doorstep in India with coloured powder, rice flour or flower petals.
Also: alpana, muggu
Rangoli is floor art made by hand at the entrance of a home or in a courtyard, especially at festivals such as Diwali. The materials are coloured powders, rice flour, sand and, very often, flower petals: orange and yellow marigold, red rose, white chrysanthemum. Designs are usually geometric or floral and are swept away afterwards. The practice has many regional forms and names, among them kolam in Tamil Nadu, alpana in Bengal and the flower pookalam of Kerala.