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.

Bride Yulia Tagil sits on the backseat of a bike as she arrives for her alternative wedding ceremony on a square in Tel Aviv July 25, 2010. The alternative wedding ceremony was intended to demonstrate against the current situation in Israel, where the only way for Jews to get married by law is through the Chief Rabbinate. (Photo by Nir Elias/Reuters)

Chinese special policemen rank in a line of battle during an anti-terror drill at a training base of Chengdu Armed Police Headquarters on September 28, 2005 in Chengdu of Sichuan Province, China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

A dead sperm whale is seen on the beach on March 18, 2012 in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province of China. Four giant sperm whales, which were found beached on the beach of Xintan Salt Field on Friday, died on Saturday despite rescue efforts. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress)

Li Tingting, second from right, laughs as she is lifted off the ground by her wife Teresa Xu, right, outside of a beauty salon where the two were preparing for their wedding as clerks from an adjacent shop look on in Beijing, Thursday, July 2, 2015. Li, a 25-year-old prominent women's rights activist who was released from detention in April, held the wedding ceremony with her partner Teresa on Thursday and announced their marriage in an effort to push for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights in China. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

A girl clings to her mother as they travel on a flooded street amid heavy rainfall in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, July 24, 2015. Approximately a million people have been affected by severe downpours in several Chinese provinces, causing collapsed houses, decimating crops as well as blocking highways, reported Xinhua News Agency. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

A street cleaner demonstrates his martial arts skills in front of a closed shop near Beijing's Tiananmen Square September 2, 2015 as the capital prepares for tomorrow's parade. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)