Nemali Muggulu Designs

Design facts

Tradition

Muggulu

Video

3 min 1 s, uploaded 22 November 2018

Views

9,310 on YouTube as of 9 October 2026

Step by step: how to draw Nemali Muggulu Designs

1. Mark a large interlaced dot grid.
2. Around the grid draw six three-petal flowers — pointed petals fanning from a single base — evenly spaced around the edge.
3. In the centre draw six birds with long S-curved necks that interlock in a swirl, each body tucked against the next.
4. Give each bird a round eye and a pointed beak reaching out to the base of a flower.
5. Beside each bird's head add a crest of small curls.
6. Draw fine lines radiating from the base of each flower.
7. Fill the birds in orange, red and magenta in turn and the flowers in blue, teal and purple, then re-trace the outlines in white.

Further reading

• Venkatraman Gopalan & Brian K. VanLeeuwen, “A topological approach to creating any pulli kolam, an artform from South India”, Forma 30, 35–41 (2015). doi:10.5047/forma.2015.005

Read more

• Andhra Pradesh and Telangana