Tribal artists and supporters from the southern Indian state of Karnataka dance outside the residence of Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi during her birthday celebrations in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, December 9, 2015. The Italian-born Gandhi is the widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and has led the Congress party since 1998. (Photo by Altaf Qadri/AP Photo)

An Indian artist gives the finishing touches to a figure of the elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesha at a workshop ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in New Delhi on September 15, 2015. The idol is meant for the forthcoming festival Ganesha Chaturthi, a ten-day long event which is celebrated all over India. During the Ganpati festival, that is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha, idols of the Hindu deity are worshipped at hundreds of pandals or makeshift tents before they are immersed into water bodies. This year, the festival starts on 17 September 2015. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP Photo)

An all women team from Indian Border Security force displays their skill on a moving motorcycle during the rehearsal for the upcoming Republic Day parade at the Raisina hills, the government seat of power, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, January 20, 2022. India celebrates Republic Day on Jan. 26, highlighted by a march past by different branches of the military as well as a display of arms and missiles. (Photo by Manish Swarup/AP Photo)

Young girls pose for a photo during the Kumari Puja Ritual on the 9th day of the Durga puja festival at a Pandal (Temporary place for worship) in Kolkata on October 4, 2022. Kumari Puja is an Indian Hindu Tradition mainly celebrated during the Durga Puja according to the Hindu Calendar. The philosophical basis of Kumari Puja is to establish the value of women. Devotees believe it will overcome all barriers, dangers for the young girls in the coming future and also, they will be empowered to handle any stress and obstruction in their coming life. (Photo by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

In this December 23, 2013 photo, Indian army soldiers patrol near one of their forward post at the Line of Control (LOC), that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, at Krishna Ghati (KG Sector) in Poonch, 290 kilometers (180 miles) from Jammu, India. The military commanders of longtime rivals India and Pakistan met on Tuesday in a bid to stop frequent cross-border attacks in disputed Kashmir which escalated tensions in the region in recent months. (Photo by Channi Anand/AP Photo)

Workers carry baskets of hand-picked tea leaves at the Makaibari Tea Estate in Kurseong, West Bengal, India, on Monday, September 8, 2014. The 155-year-old Makaibari Tea Estate recently sold it's Darjeeling tea, named Silver Tips Imperial, for $1,850 a kilo to buyers from the U.K., the U.S. and Japan, becoming the most expensive Indian tea ever sold. (Photo by Sanjit Das/Bloomberg)

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.

Indian authorities hold a tiger skin as they set fire to a stockpile of illegal wildlife parts at the Delhi Zoo in New Delhi, India, Sunday, November 2, 2014. A stockpile of tiger skins, elephant tusks, rhino horns and other illegal animal parts were burned Sunday in an effort to discourage wildlife smuggling in South Asia. (Photo by Tsering Topgyal/AP Photo)