‘Pookkalam’ gets a 3D makeover by Bengaluru-based Malayali designer

Preparing pookkalam (flower carpets) has marked the commencement of Onam festivities in Kerala for decades. From the smaller pookkalams made with flowers foraged from the house garden to enormous displays filled with market-bought flowers, pookkalams and Onam are inseparable.

For Rahul R, a UI/UX creative designer in Bengaluru, designing new pookkalams has been an annual ritual. It was around three years ago that he decided to tweak one of his pookkalam designs featuring a Kathakali character, with green and white colours dominating the facade. He believed his pookkalam was missing the expressive eyes of the dancer to convey complex emotions with intricate movements of the eye. That was how he thought of a wooden eye powered by electricity. The oscillating iris recreates a Kathakali dancer’s expressions on a face made of white chrysanthemums, marigolds and bachelor’s buttons. “When the prototype was a success, I thought of sharing it with other people,” says Rahul, who hails from Kottayam.

Pookkalam with Kathakali design
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“While in school and college, I was the go-to person for pookkalam designs among my peers during Onam,” recalls Rahul, who has previously worked in advertising field.

Rahul R designing the eyes of Kathakali dancer
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This year, Rahul has introduced a snake boat model, placed in the middle of the flower carpet. The handmade product, made of plywood and 3D-printed material, has three oarsmen with Mahabali a.k.a. Maveli at the helm. The figures start rowing once the boat is connected to a USB power source, like a phone charger or a power bank.

Pookkalam with snakeboat design
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“I wanted to bring something new. All parts are handcrafted by my wife, Chitra Rahul and me,” says Rahul, who sells his 3D pookkalams as kits under the brand name Asan Hobby.

“Each kit has a pookkalam outline with a diameter of five feet, which will be marked with the colours to be filled. Another component is the moving module, which is either the eyes of the Kathakali dancer, or the oarsmen in the boat race model,” says Rahul. “After Onam, you can use the boat as a showpiece.”

The snakeboat showpiece
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“Even without sketching skills, you can create a beautiful pookalam,” says Rahul, whose interests extend to assembling miniature aircraft and selling airplane building kits. He has made over 50 aircraft models and organises workshops on the same. “I am self-taught in many of these fields,” the 36-year-old says.

The pookalam kits are priced from ₹3,800, and his customers are mainly from Kerala, with multiple enquiries from abroad.

He adds, “We want to produce more designs. Some people may not feel like using our templates; so we can give them more options to customise. And we look forward to sell conveniently over a website.”

Rahul believes that his models have not “modernised pookkalams. We are just making the job of drawing easier. However, the remaining steps, such as cutting the flowers and laying them, should still be done by people.”

For instance, someone who lives in an apartment with marble floors, Rahul says, might not be able to draw on the floor with chalk. “We make people’s jobs easier not cut them from their culture. It’s just a guideline for making the pookkalams.”

For details, contact the Instagram handle, @asan_hobby