Kolam.fun is a browser-based interactive art toy inspired by the ancient South Indian tradition of Kolam — a sacred geometric pattern drawn daily with rice flour to invite harmony, beauty, and the blessings of goddess Lakshmi. This project translates that ephemeral morning ritual into a dynamic digital experience where user movement subtly shapes and evolves each Kolam design.
Kolam is a traditional Tamil art form where women draw symmetrical line patterns around a grid of dots on the ground, often using rice flour. These transient designs are spiritual offerings as well as aesthetic expressions. Rooted in geometry, ritual, and daily mindfulness, Kolam patterns embody both mathematical elegance and devotional practice.
Read more about the cultural context in kolam.md.
This game captures the essence of Kolam creation while introducing interactive logic:
- 💠 You click anywhere on the canvas.
- 📈 Your movement speed and timing influence how densely the Kolam pattern connects.
- 🌕 Background visuals are overlaid with a yantra image, evoking spiritual symbolism.
- 🔁 The complexity increases automatically as your pattern becomes more fluid.
- 💾 You can save your Kolam with one click.
Under the hood, the game computes a movementValue based on:
movementValue = time-weighted ratio of distance / timeThis value influences limit, a probability threshold that controls how the lines grow between grid points — leading to a natural evolution of pattern density, like breath influencing meditation.
- Number of crossings is always
pullis - 1. - Number of edges is
2 × crossings. - All dots (pullis) are surrounded by lines with symmetrical logic.
- The system hints at Eulerian structures and graph theory concepts — with interactive user behavior affecting path probability.
- The design evolution follows a philosophical rhythm: mindful movement begets fascination.
Open Kolam.fun and explore how pattern changes depending on where you click or tap. You can tap anywhere, try to see the force of effects. Hint: the toy best reacts to taps then you are relaxed but focused, like watching falling stars on the night sky.
Click the "Save Kolam" button to download your current design as a .png image you can share.
sketch.js– Main logic for drawing, user interaction, and probabilistic path generation.kolam.md– Full cultural and anthropological background of Kolam.index.html– Canvas container and controls.img/luna2.jpg– Background image.
- 🎨 Pattern exports as SVG for digital printing.
- 📊 Graph analysis (Eulerian/Hamiltonian path checks).
- 🌐 Shareable Kolam "signatures" as compressed movement seeds.
- 🧘 Integration with breath sensors or meditation timers.
- Inspired by the daily ritual of Kolam drawing women across Tamil Nadu and beyond
- Algorithmic movement logic developed using p5.js
- J5.js implementation from Processing Sketch by Bárbara Almeida
- Cultural research from essay in GEA Magazine
"Kolam represents both the beauty of order and the order of beauty."
