An Indian worker makes a roll of the kite thread being prepared on a roadside on the outskirts of Amritsar, India, 24 November 2020. The kite string or the “Dor”, in the local language, is made of crushed glass, glue, colors, and egg to make it strong enough to hold the kite. (Photo by Raminder Pal Singh/EPA/EFE)

A Kashmiri Muslim bride looks through her veil during a mass wedding event in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Thursday, June 15, 2023. Mass weddings in India are organized by social organizations primarily to help the economically backward families who cannot afford the high ceremony costs as well as the customary dowry and expensive gifts that are still prevalent in many communities. (Photo by Mukhtar Khan/AP Photo)

A Kashmiri farmer picks saffron flowers from a field in Pampore, south of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, 06 November 2023. Pampore, also known as the Saffron town of Kashmir, is famous for its high quality saffron. It is one of few places in the world where the world's most expensive spice grows. (Photo by Farooq Khan/EPA)

A man dressed in the likeness of the Hindu deity Agni Kandakarnan performs during the Theyyam ritualistic dance festival on March 14, 2023 in Somwarpet, India. Theyyam is a colourful socioreligious dance form that is the amalgamation of ritual, vocal and instrumental music, dance, painting, and literature and its genesis can be traced to the coastal regions of the southern Indian states of Kerala and Karnataka. (Photo by Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Images)

Indian girl, Amrita Bannerjee, gets dressed as the Goddess Durga, during Kumari Puja ritual as part of the Durga Puja festival at Shidaspur village, far north of Kolkata, India, 30 September 2025. During the Kumari Puja, devotees worship a girl aged between six and twelve, symbolizing the Kanya Kumari (virgin) form of the Goddess Durga Devi. Hindu devotees believe that Kanya is a living embodiment of the goddess Durga. (Photo by Piyal Adhikary/EPA)

A girl holds her newly purchased pet cat while posing for a photograph at a pet shop in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, 10 November 2025. Kashmir is seeing more pet owners, especially of Persian cats. Over 6,000 cat bite cases were reported last year, accounting for nearly half of the rabies control budget. Experts urge vaccination as demand for pedigree pets continues to rise. (Photo by Farooq Khan/EPA)

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)

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.