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.

Shot by Bert Hardy, the black and white images show prisoners carrying out remedial tasks such as untying knots in post office string and sewing mail bags. Other intriguing shots show lags doing their daily one hour outdoor exercise, being frisked for contraband items by officers during a routine “rub down” and serving evening meals. Strangeways was designed by Alfred Waterhouse and cost £170,000 ($207,910) to build. The prison, famed for its prominent ventilation tower and imposing design, has become a local landmark. Here: A prison officer frisking prisoners during the “rub-down” at Strangeways Prison in Manchester, UK on November 1948. (Photo by Bert Hardy/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A catholic faithful smeared in burnt oil, takes part in the opening of the ten-day celebration of the Santo Domingo de Guzman festival in Managua, on August 1, 2019. In Central America the black devil, or El Cadejo, is an evil dog-like spirit with glowing red eyes that locals believe eats new born puppies. (Photo by Inti Ocon/AFP Photo)

“Family disagreement”. (Photo by Vlado Pirsa/Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards 2019)

ne committed photographer spent a grand total of 3,000 dive hours trying to get the perfect shots, capturing beautiful images of a rare shark feeding frenzy. Laurent Ballesta’s images show the glimmering gray reef sharks hunting in swift packs, flying through the water and feasting on the likes of helpless grouper. (Photo by Laurent Ballesta/Caters News Agency)

A lightning strikes through smoke from fuel storage tanks that exploded near Cuba's supertanker port in Matanzas, Cuba on August 8, 2022. (Photo by Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters)

A protester uses molotov cocktails against riot police during May Day protests on May 1, 2010 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Milos Bicanski /Getty Images)

Singers Steven Tyler (L) and Nicole Scherzinger perform onstage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 24, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Clear Channel)