Hues of celebrations

Jayanthi Madhukar has some ideas for a vibrant festive decor.

Sankranti is the time for celebrations and what’s more festive than flowers and rangoli? Here’s a look at ways to transform your living spaces into an extension of the festival.

Flower power

Florist Nayana Kumar suggests making ‘torans’ or flower strings to hang over the door with marigold flowers and mango leaves. “Pin a marigold flower at the base of a leaf and string the mango leaves on a string. The colourful sight is not only welcoming but looks grand and festive.” Apart from torans, which she suggests, can be done for all the interior doors as well, strings of marigold flowers could be strung in the corners and on expansive stretches of walls. “The bright yellow and orange hues of marigold flowers is unparalleled in visual appeal,” she says. “Intersperse these with the deep green hue of mango leaves and there’s really nothing else needed.”

Apart from marigolds, another flower that makes an impact in visual and olfactory appeal is the tuberose. “Get bunches of tuberoses and stick them in vases and brass containers,” she says. The strong fragrance will elevate the festive ambiance. She also suggests filling up tiny brass containers with petals of roses, marigolds, and chrysanthemums and placing them on table tops and ledges to have islands of festive colour.

A popular way to symbolise Sankranti festival is to fill up a brass pot with marigold garlands and let the flowers ‘overflow’ from the pot. Place this arrangement in the corner of the hallway or courtyard.

Rangoli rhapsody

Rangoli expert Aruna S usually stakes out for the best spot in the house for her rangolis. Usually, it is the hallway which is where visitors first enter the house. “I usually make the rangoli according to the space available and as far as possible, I try to make the rangoli in one corner so that one doesn’t have to be too cautious about people stepping on it accidentally.”

She suggests making rangoli with colours symbolising festivities like yellow, red, green and pink. “Use these colours, preferably not more than three, to fill your design. Use white to make the outline and to fill up a few gaps. Some of the popular rangoli designs for Sankranti are flowers, peacocks and scenes of celebrations like a pot of Pongal and so on.”

Apart from colours, she suggests using plain Kumkum, turmeric and rice flour to create simple designs. “These rangolis could be made on trays and placed in the puja room,” she suggests.

Crafting memories

If you wish to get the children involved in the festivities, encourage them to make paper decorations for Sankranti. Colourful kites, flowers, strings of leaves, and pots of rice could be cut out and strung up as streamers. Enlist their help in creating a photo booth by hanging a plain saree and pinning up their paper cutouts on it. Decorate the photo booth further with strings of flowers and ask them to pose in front of their own creations. It will help create wonderful memories.