A Kolam decoration outside a house in Pondicherry, India..Also known as Rangoli, Kolam is an art form from India in which patterns are created on the floor in living rooms or courtyards using materials such as colored rice, dry flour, colored sand or flower petals. .Pondicherry (now Puducherry) is a Union Territory of India and was a French territory until 1954 (legally on 16 August 1962). The French Quarter of the town retains a strong French influence in terms of architecture and culture.