Kolams

If there is something that I admired from chldhood, that is Kolam. The simple dots and curve/straight lins combination with thr myriads of combination use to fascinate me a lot (as a teenager, those who made the Kolams were the intersting objects..that is a different story)
When in Kochi, I read a paper in a journal about Kolam and Maths expressions. Curious though, it did not catch my attention except for the fact that solutions for some mathematic problems can be solved/ interpreted through complex designs of Egyptians, Assyrians and the South Indian Kolam. I did not know much about Kolam and so simply dropped the idea of reading it further.
Recently, in a geometric puzzles book, I found a pattern of kolam (3*3 matrix) used to explain the problem and how that can expand to multiple rows & columns matrix to include several smaller kolam dimension. The amazing fact was that Kolam is a symbolic representation of an expanding challenge with solution given by geometrical interpretation. In one snap, you see the whole picture of the problem and the solution itself in it. Haven't we heard that 'problem have solution in itself'?

The logical deductions follows the use of symmetry and curves (some finite and some infinite) . Any problem solving technique involves
1. Breaking of the challenge into chewable pieces
2) Representing the problem into something more basic and understandable and
3) Finding solution by the representing object,s physical rules. This is based on core logic and reasoning.
If you see how the elderly ladies of the house approach a problem, you can see the pattern. The emotional angle is their expressive media( cut that out for a moment). Their logic works on the rules of the practical world. They use a lot of similies and comparisons for a solution. They 'picturize' the problem mentally and offer solution based on historical data. I now believe that credit goes to their Kolam and carnaric music.

W(hy)ah Taj?

W(hy)ah Taj?
I  love Taj. It is an ineffable beauty. No one can deny that. But, hold on... We have something beautiful too.
Incredible India is a campaign that is surfeit with Taj photos - camels on dry Yamuna patch to some Rajasthani guys with big bright colored /pagdis and bigger moustaches. Does India start and end in Delhi airport- with a car ride to Agra?
What about the Big Temple of Thanjavur or the glorious Puri/ elegant North East or the meandering beaches of Kerala/ Konkan coast? Delhi decides what one should have as an image of India. That is dangerous.
in Air India flights(which I seldom take), the screen starts with .... you guessed it, the Taj. That too some lady posing for a family photo. Can't AirIndia afford a decent professional photography?
This type of stereocasting a nation would make the other deserving states think differently. Already the UP/Bihar resentment is on the rising. It is not for just political gains the shoutings are heard.
I hope to see India in it's own diversified glory. Even shah jehan would be sick of watching the Taj by Govt ads. Really Incredible India and an equally incredible Indian Government!