April 16, 2011 2.00 pm This story is over 154 months old

Street artist brings Indian art to Lincoln

Street art: Janak Chauhan re-creates the Indian folk art Rangoli on the pavements outside the Lincoln Cathedral.

Lincoln Cathedral was introduced to the ancient Indian folk art of Rangoli, thanks to street art from Janak Chauhan.

Chauhan says he uses traditional materials to create his work with his hands in tipping motion to form shapes.

“I use crushed marble and my fingers to do it. It requires hand eye and mind co-ordination.

“If you move your hand up and down and create fine lines, it creates a pattern called Serpentine—because it looks like a snake crawling through mud.

“There are other patterns called Gopard and Taru. There are a lot of different patterns and shapes you can do.”

He also explained that the art came from India and was usually done to celebrate Indian festival Diwali:

“It’s generally done on the last day of Diwali and the last day of the year.”

Chauhan said his work was mostly for fun, and not for money: “You just enjoy it, and people enjoy it, and it’s entertainment.”

Photos: Kelly Moore for The Lincolnite