… lines in chalk, ancient modern street art
India is not big on modern western graffiti yet, but they have a brilliant tradition of street art that was one of the first things that really touched me here. These are the rangoli, small chalk mandalas made by spreading fine chalk powder on the pavement. Sometimes they are colorful, sometimes just white. I’ve recently seen a street seller with a roll down tube of chalk that made pseudo rangoli. Sometimes they are quite plain, or even fairly crude. Sometimes they are almost figurative or a blend between figurative and geometric … usually they are at doorsteps, though over pongal, there were quite a few done in the beachside carpark. Either way, within a few hours they will be well on their way to erasure, walked on driven over, spilt water on.
Here are a few examples I’ve snatched …
