Pulli Kolam

A pulli kolam is a Tamil dot-grid design: pulli means dot, and kolam is the Tamil name for the art of drawing patterns on the floor. The name is the method — place a grid of dots, then draw around and through them.

This collection brings together 53 pulli kolam videos — most named by their dot counts — each with a complete drawing to follow from start to finish.

One art, three names

The same threshold art crosses South India under different names: kolam in Tamil, muggu in Telugu, and rangoli as the umbrella word most of India uses. The dot-grid method travels with it — what Tamil tradition calls pulli kolam, Telugu households call chukkala muggulu. The Chukkala Muggulu guide (106 designs) tells that side of the story.

Counting dots in Tamil

Pulli kolangal (the plural of kolam) are named by their dot counts: a “12 pulli kolam” is simply a kolam drawn on twelve dots. The square grids have their own step-by-step guide in 5 to 5 dots (164 designs). Beyond the grid, Tamil tradition also names techniques drawn on it: a sikku kolam weaves a single unbroken line through the dots without lifting the hand, while a kambi kolam builds its figure from straight line strokes.

The tradition

Kolam is drawn at dawn, on a cleaned threshold, with rice flour running between the fingers — and tradition holds that the flour itself is an offering, feeding ants and small birds so the household’s day opens with an act of hospitality. Through the Margazhi month (mid-December to mid-January) kolams grow larger day by day, reaching their peak at Pongal. The Kolam for Pongal collection (109 designs) gathers the season’s patterns.

What you’ll find in this collection

There are 53 designs here, each a step-by-step video. The titles lean compact and beginner-friendly — “easy”, “small” and kutti (Tamil for little) recur — and the most-watched design, Traditional Friday Diya Pulli Designs Rangoli, has been viewed over 1.3 million times. Tamil and Telugu words mix freely in the titles, as they do in the tradition itself.

Quick answers

What does “pulli kolam” mean? Pulli is Tamil for dot; kolam is the floor-drawing art. A pulli kolam is a design built on a grid of dots.

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

When are kolams drawn? Traditionally every morning at dawn, growing largest in the Margazhi month, mid-December to mid-January, up to Pongal.