The vernacular of the diaspora_ேகாலம் (Kolam) re-imagined.

The article focuses on a creative practice-led research project that re-imagines the traditional Tamil ritual drawing of Kolam within the context of the Tamil diaspora's migrant experience. Through poetry, performance, and visual art, the project explores themes of displacement, memory, and cultural continuity by using Kolam's geometric patterns as a metaphor for crossing thresholds and cycles of creating, fracturing, and re-creating in diasporic life. The work incorporates sensory and material elements such as clay, textiles, and community engagement to express the embodied and relational nature of migrant identity across diverse lands, including Australia, Singapore, and the United States. This contemporary artistic interpretation highlights how vernacular cultural practices evolve to sustain connections to ancestral origins while acknowledging loss and transformation.