Muharram Rangoli Ideas

A clean white-cloth-covered platform with an alam, a small taziya, candles and ashurkhana decoration in black and green. Black is the mourning colour for the period and the palette should not be festive.

Typical spend: ₹500–₹3,000

A stall at the house or on the street offering free water, sherbet and milk throughout Ashura. This is the festival's most important public practice and the decoration is secondary to the service.

Typical spend: ₹500–₹3,000

Rows of candles and oil lamps at the ashurkhana or home platform, lit in the evening of Ashura. Use a metal tray base and keep away from the cloth.

Typical spend: ₹200–₹800

Chalk the grid before you pour

Most rangoli failures are symmetry failures. Draw the outer circle with a compass or a plate, then divide it into equal wedges with chalk. You can pour colour over the chalk and it disappears.

Rice flour does not run out

Dry rice flour holds an edge far better than wet powder and is what the traditional doorway versions are drawn with. Keep a small bowl separate for touch-ups.

Start from the centre outwards

Layers added from the middle keep the shape honest. Working inwards tends to leave you compressing the last ring to fit, which is what makes a rangoli look rushed.

Wet the floor, don't flood it

A lightly damp floor holds powder. A wet one makes it bleed. One pass with a damp cloth on a stone floor is enough; back off completely on tile with a glossy finish.