Rangoli, also known as kolam or Muggu, is a folk art from India in which patterns are created on the floor in living rooms or courtyards using materials such as colored rice, dry flour, colored sand or flower petals. It is usually made during Diwali, Onam, Pongal and other Indian festivals. They are meant to be sacred welcoming areas for the Hindu deities. The ancient symbols have been passed down through the ages, from each generation to the next, keeping both the art form and the tradition alive. Similar practices are followed in different Indian states: in Tamil Nadu, there is Kolam in Tamil Nadu; Mandana in Rajasthan; Chaookpurna in Chhattisgarh; Alpana in West Bengal; Aripana in Bihar; Chowk pujan in Uttar Pradesh; Muggu in Andhra Pradesh and others.

Children pour cold water on themselves under the control of fitness coach Margarita Filimonova (R) at local kindergarten number 317, with the air temperature at about minus 23 degrees Celsius (minus 9.4 degrees Fahrenheit), in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, February 5, 2013. (Photo by Ilya Naymushin/Reuters)

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A meteorite burns up in the atmosphere as seen in this photo taken near of Salgotarjan, 109 kms northeast of Budapest, Hungary, late 21 April 2015. The Moon and Venus can be seen on the left. (Photo by Peter Komka/EPA)

Musafir, a pet monkey, eats sweets on a pavement in Kolkata, India, June 9, 2016. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

A model jumps during a photo shooting, in Milan, Italy, Friday, January 15, 2016. Men's fashion week starts today and will run until Tuesday, January 19. (Photo by Luca Bruno/AP Photo)

A motorcyclist dodges in the annual water-splashing festival to mark the New Year of the Dai minority in Menglian, Yunnan province April 13, 2015. (Photo by Wong Campion/Reuters)

A pedestrian carries an umbrella as they stroll past an advertisment as a rainstorm moves through Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, February 13, 2019. Rain is falling widely in Northern California and is expected to spread south. (Photo by Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo)

A villager harvests water chestnuts in Feijiadai Village, Zhejiang Province, China on September 20, 2019. (Photo by Huang Zongzhi/Xinhua News Agency/Barcroft Media)