Vijaya Mohan, the creator of Singarangoli, creates traditional rangoli designs with contemporary materials to showcase the art to Singaporeans. Understanding that the art form can be taught to everyone, she held rangoli workshops for seniors, medical professionals, and even the visually impaired. Vijaya reflects on the challenges and innovation required to keep the tradition alive.
00:00I feel it is a beautiful, wonderful art. Everybody must learn, must do, because a lot of underlying factors, physically, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically.
00:11Why we do Rangoli? To bring in health, wealth and prosperity to the house.
00:16And when you do at the doorstep, people enter your house with different kinds of emotion, different kinds of feeling, happy, sad, sick, so many things.
00:25When you see the designs immediately, the colour changes, the mood, the brain, everything, you're bringing in positive energy into the house.
00:33So the whole atmosphere will be positive. So when you live in a positive atmosphere, you'll be happy.
00:41And then the people around you will be very, very happy.
00:43In southern India, we have to sweep the doorstep early in the morning, around 6 a.m.
00:56And then we have to create the design using rice powder.
01:00So my mother used to draw the design.
01:03So I got very attracted.
01:05So I used to get up early with her around 5.30 and then sit with her and see how she's drawing the designs, everything.
01:12So I started asking her, give me also a powder, I want to try.
01:17Rangoli is a very beautiful art.
01:19It changes your emotion, gives you a lot of energy and also it helps you focusing, helps you problem solving and helps you in arranging your mind, body, physically, mentally, everything, it's helping you.
01:35And if you really cannot do it, they can print it, colour it, colour gives a lot of energy.
01:41Rangoli is normally circular because it also implies the live circle.
01:48And then we start from the centre and expand the design.
01:51When you start from the centre, it helps you like calculation, approximating, estimation, spacing, so many things you are learning.
01:59And we do a lot of repetitive patterns.
02:02When you do the repetitive pattern, you are doing a lot of repetitive things in your life.
02:07You are able to analyse, learning this, how I was yesterday, how I am today.
02:12I formed the company only in 2015.
02:17It's a traditional design and contemporary material.
02:21Because nobody in the world is doing like that, it is something new and different, so I want to make it as a Singapore version of Rangoli, Singa-Rangoli.
02:31That is why I gave the name.
02:35Being in a multiracial country, I wanted to expand and expose the art to everybody in Singapore and around the world.
02:42And I have been practising it for the past 10 years.
02:47So I came to Singapore in 1992 and then I started realising that art form can be taught to everybody and then because very few people were doing Rangoli at that time,
03:03So I started doing it in community centres and museums everywhere.
03:08I found that during Deepavoli always rain in Singapore.
03:12So when you create design in hotels and other places, they didn't want the floor to get spoiled.
03:20So I started using, pasting the Rangoli.
03:27My husband is a chemical technology specialist, so he came up with the all-weather glue.
03:32So I experimented for one or two months, creating the design, putting in the rain, putting in the sun for some time and then found it's working.
03:40Then I started using those.
03:43From then onwards, the idea of Singa Rangoli started.
03:49Whenever they see my materials, always people say, wow, we can use with this also.
04:02Rangoli is normally done with powder, but Singa Rangoli is you can do with any material available in your household.
04:10No need to look for any material, you just need your time.
04:15It's a beautiful art and anybody can create it because it is not very difficult.
04:23I'm making Singa Rangoli.
04:28I'm using variety of materials.
04:31Small mirror, pong pong, bangle, sago, recycled water bottle, cover, ice cream stick and then toothpick.
04:40I'm going to use fork, cotton bud.
04:46With the orange, it's glowing, it is opening.
04:51Pink, pink makes you feel good, happy.
04:56The toothpick and the heart, your life is going to be very bright with the opening sun and the heart inside.
05:06Rangoli is based on nature.
05:09All these designs are typical Rangoli traditional designs.
05:21If you ask me, I won't call it business.
05:24It's a heritage.
05:26Our ancestors created this with a very, very beautiful and specific reason.
05:31It has got a lot of underlying factors.
05:33It is our Indian tradition.
05:36For every prayer, for everything, Rangoli is the starting point.
05:41We have to clean the house, create the Rangoli and then only we have to do any kind of prayer or whatever we do in our life.
05:51So that is very, very prominent, very important aspect of life.
05:54So it is our culture and heritage to pass on to other generations, younger people.
06:00And everybody must learn, especially Indians.
06:03They must learn, they must do it, they must know the significance.
06:06That is the tradition we want to teach them.
06:09Don't forget our own culture and heritage.
06:12I had challenges because whenever it comes to like financial funding, all those things, I found very difficult.
06:22And I don't like bargaining.
06:24When they say, I said, okay, I will do it.
06:26Please, don't ask like that.
06:29I am respecting the art.
06:31Ten people, hundred people are going to see that.
06:34And they will learn about this art.
06:36If they don't know, they will ask, hey, what is this?
06:39Why you have done?
06:40So all those exposure will come.
06:42I got this Stewards of Intangible Culture Heritage Award, National Award in Singapore, which I felt very happy and honored.
06:53And also I felt my art is appreciated.
06:57My effort is appreciated.
06:59By seeing this, many people will come forward to take up this and then do it.
07:04And my another is after I finished my Guinness World Record, because I did for seven hours continuously, nonstop.
07:11So I felt out of the world like.
07:14In 2010, I created a hanging rangoli in Esplanade.
07:18I did totally with gemstones.
07:20I did the 3D rangoli.
07:22They are clading like.
07:23So the clading I converted into peacock.
07:26And then the face I did with the plastic sheet.
07:292013, I rangoli with 65,000 recycled CD.
07:34I did with 60 organization.
07:36Then after that, I did with spoon, fork,
07:40typewriter chips.
07:42And then sawdust, wood chip.
07:45I did rangoli with 50,000 bangles.
07:48Not coming out.
07:51Yes, got it.
07:55Favorite part is creating rangoli with seniors.
08:00Once, when I worked with stroke and dementia patients, I did like a puzzle.
08:05They can create rangoli at the same time.
08:07They can play using the puzzle like a game.
08:11In Singapore General Hospital, I did with all the patients, doctors, walking in patients,
08:17and all the nurses, everybody.
08:19I had a counter for two months.
08:21I created around 400 pieces.
08:24Do different kinds of rangoli on plate, rangoli on acrylic sheet with them.
08:28And then decorate the wall of the hospitals.
08:31A few years back, I did rangoli with blind people.
08:35I really enjoyed working with them.
08:38They could not see the colors, everything.
08:41But they could touch, feel, and the way they assembled all the material, whatever I gave.
08:48It was very amazing.
08:49Like, they took a long time.
08:51But they were very happily involved in doing it.
08:58All these projects, I do with the people of Singapore.
09:02So whenever I come up with an idea, what I am supposed to do, I will experiment it.
09:08Then I will try it out in a small way.
09:11Because if I am going to give it to seniors, how the seniors can handle it?
09:15So I make it very simpler.
09:17I will try it out and then go to them.
09:19So minimum 40 to 50 organizations in each project.
09:22So will take part.
09:24And then I do the exhibition in various places in Singapore.
09:28Whenever any project finishes, I will think what next?
09:32How am I going to reach to people?
09:34How am I going to bring in so many people around?
09:37And then create this artwork.
09:40I want to expose more to younger generation.
09:43But in a way that they are connected to that this is Rangoli.
09:47This is done by Indians.
09:48So all those things, information, they will know.
09:51Exposure to the art.
09:52And then those who are very interested in art, they will try.
09:56Definitely they will try to do it.
09:58Because of the colors, because of the design, and the way we are doing it.
