Chukkala Muggulu

Chukkala muggulu are Telugu dot-grid designs: chukka means dot, and muggu is the Telugu name for the art of drawing patterns on the floor. The name says exactly what these designs are — muggulu built on a grid of dots.

This collection brings together 106 chukkala muggulu videos, from quick everyday patterns to Sankranthi showpieces, each with a complete drawing you can follow from start to finish.

One art, three names

The same threshold art carries different names across South India: muggu in Telugu, kolam in Tamil, and rangoli as the umbrella word most of India uses. The dot-grid method is shared too — what Telugu households call chukkala muggulu, Tamil tradition calls pulli kolam (pulli also means dot). The languages differ; placing a grid of dots and drawing around or through it is the same craft. The Pulli Kolam collection (53 designs) shows the Tamil side of the family.

Counting dots in Telugu

Chukkala muggulu are named by their dot counts: a search like “5 chukkala muggulu” simply means a muggu drawn on five dots. This site organizes the same designs by number as well — the 5 to 5 dots guide (164 designs) and the 6 to 6 dots guide (191 designs) explain the square grids step by step. Whether you arrive through the Telugu name or the number, you land in the same tradition.

The tradition

Muggulu are traditionally drawn at dawn, on a cleaned threshold or courtyard, with rice flour running between the fingers. Through most of the year they stay small and quick; in the Sankranthi month (mid-December to mid-January) they grow into large daily designs, often decorated with gobbemmalu — small decorated balls of cow dung placed on the finished muggu — and reach their peak at Bhogi and Sankranthi. The Muggulu for Sankranthi collection (92 designs) gathers the season’s patterns.

What you’ll find in this collection

There are 106 designs here, each with a step-by-step video. Festival pieces lean toward Sankranthi, and the most-watched design — Easy Drawing Floor New Chukkala Kolam — has been watched over twelve million times. Titles mix Telugu muggulu and Tamil kolam freely, and small grids sit beside Sankranthi showpieces.

Quick answers

What does “chukkala muggulu” mean? Chukka is Telugu for dot; muggu is the floor-drawing art. Chukkala muggulu are designs drawn on a grid of dots.

Is chukkala muggulu the same as pulli kolam? The method is the same — a dot grid, then lines drawn around or through it. Muggu is the Telugu tradition, kolam the Tamil; rangoli is the umbrella word.

When are muggulu drawn? Traditionally every morning at dawn, with the largest designs in the Sankranthi month, mid-December to mid-January.