India is the cradle of cultures and traditions that predate the West by centuries. In various regions, the design of domestic offerings is common, using traditional materials and methods. In the region of Tamil Nadu, near the modern metropolises of Chennai and Madurai, the tradition of kolam (a word that means “beauty” but also “symmetry”) persists, taught from mothers to daughters for generations.
After cleaning the threshold of the house in the morning, the women take some rice flour and set about creating an ephemeral work of art. Small dots serve as axes to build floral and geometric patterns, reminiscent of mathematical fractals.
It is an artistic form with deep religious and mythological roots. The artist hunches over her back as if she were praying, while she watches her creation grow at her feet. The kolam is a symbolic offering to the goddess Lakshmi (or Laksmi), who blesses homes with the prosperity of the food offered.
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According to researcher Vijaya Nagarajan, professor of theology and religious studies at the University of San Francisco, the kolam is a religious metaphor for natural cycles. According to Nagarajan, in Hindu mythology devotees are said to have a “karmic obligation” to “feed a thousand souls.” This ritual of generosity reminds us that the souls they feed are not just human: birds and insects can feast here.
Pictorial languages and artificial intelligence
Scientists have studied the kolam tradition both in its ritual context and in its deployment of advanced mathematical concepts. According to Marcia Ascher, a professor at Ithaca College, this is “an unusual example of the expression of mathematical ideas in a cultural context.”
The figures and patterns of the kolam do not function as graphs or vectors; However, some researchers equate these traditional designs to models such as the Sierpinski triangle, a fractal that is formed from the repetition of equilateral triangles.
Kolam has also been studied as a programming language, capable of compressing information through formal rules and basic structures. By training artificial intelligences to reproduce kolams, computer scientists have learned a lot about applied pictorial language.
Although it is a fascinating cultural expression, traditions such as kolam, Rangoli or Aripana, practiced in different regions of India, face the disinterest of youth and urban lifestyles that leave little space on public roads to practice them.
Although the designs are often documented in books (even some made by the families who make them), there are festivals like Margazhi where special attention is given to the kolam. Women who practice it describe it as a source of health and creativity. According to Nagarajan, it is also “a powerful vehicle for Tamil women’s self-expression,” capable of “articulating desires, concerns, sensitivities and sufferings, ultimately affirming the power with which women have been blessed to create a reality.” desired: a happy and healthy home.”