India Singh, S. (2001). Lonely Planet - India. Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd., Melbourne.

Includes an introduction to rangoli and some images of rangoli in the arts and crafts section.

"Kolams (meaning play, form or beauty in the Tamil language)...are drawn at sunrise and are made of rice-flour paste, which may be eaten by small creatures, thus symbolising a reverence for life…the gesture is doubly blessed; giving as one's first act of the day is viewed as extremely auspicious... Kolams transmit all sorts of information to those who understand their nuances. They may signal to sadhus that they can expect food at a particular house or they may be a sign of the family's prosperity and hospitality generally... some believe that kolams protect against the evil eye, acting as a sort of deflector of ill intentions, envy or greed."

Banard, N (1993). Arts and Crafts of India. Conran Octopus, London.

In the 'paint' section is a description of the kolams of harvest festival known as Pongal which are made with freshly harvested rice flour. The Kolam can be visually representational or symbolic. The book includes images of festival kolams.

In Tamil Nadu during Pongal "women draw the outlines of patterns with freshly harvested flour, sifted through thumb and fingers. Bright powder colours bought at the market, are then sprinkled into each field of the composition as it grows outward from the centre...all the doorways of the village and town houses alike are ablaze with the radiance of multitude of colourful circular kolams" (Barnard, p. 68).

"[kolams are] drawn with coloured powder, sprinkled between thumb and fingers on the fresh damp earth of early morning...within hours, busy passing feet will obliterate this most ephemeral of painted forms." (Barnard, p. 69)

Krishnamurti, R. (1998). Kolam, a living tradition of South India. Seethalakshmi Publications, Chennai.

A book in which a woman writes about her grandmother and the place of kolam design in her life. Their conversations are shared in the text and illustrated with examples of the grandmother's designs.

"the kolam, known by different names in the different states in the different states, is an inseparable part of life in India. In Tamil Nadu no Hindu home is without a few lines of the pattern made with rice flour or paste on the windswept floor first thing in the morning, both in the frontyard and before the household deity within. On festival days and household ceremonies these patterns get more elaborate, bordered with maroon paste for effect. During their season, the large golden parangi flowers, each thrust into a little ball of cowdung, are strategically placed over the kolam...kolams...make an unbroken carpet of intricate lines, dots and whorls. The ritual is repeated at rosy twilight, with the addition of tiny earthern lamps making stars of light in their niches near the doorways of homes..." (Krishnamurti p. 8-9)

The writer's observes her grandmother's designs:

"the large circular design made by dribbling rice flour between thumb and forefinger has lines and curves, squares and circles of geometrical precision. But there is nothing methodical about this precision. It is not a calculate form but spontaneous effusion. It releases the imagination to create a riot of patterns, of sheer beauty, a different one each day. Perhaps because the instant art of kolam does not permit reflection or correction, it allows great freedom and scope for originality. The circles and squares remain constant, but no pattern can be reproduced in its exact permutations and combinations. The elaborate, lovingly ravelled details are always a little different each time...[grandmother] had her own names to describe some of them...she always found time to stop and admire her own handiwork..."(Krishnamurti, p. 14)