When we arrived at Vijaya Mohan's single-storey home in Potong Pasir, we were struck not just by how warmly welcomed we were, but also by the beauty of the myriad handmade artwork all over the front foyer of her house.

There are paintings, on the wall and standing against pillars, vases and lanterns painted in a variety of different colours, shapes and designs, mingling with her home's furniture, and of course, what is perhaps the crowning glory of all the artwork — brightly-coloured rainbow patterns of powder in beautiful designs on the ground area that would typically be used as a driveway.

And as soon as we stepped in, Vijaya served us cups of hot tea and a container filled with delicious traditional Indian cashew cookies and chocolate muffins, amusingly excusing herself to change into a sari for our interview, "to look good in front of the camera".

It was only at that point that I realised we weren't there hanging out with our favourite aunty, but to actually, ahem, work.

So here's Vijaya Mohan, a Singaporean professional rangoli artist, in her lovely sari:

After we were done with our very delicious and hearty tea (and feeling very much on the verge of a food coma), Vijaya brought us to her foyer while her helper carried out a large container filled with smaller boxes of brightly-coloured rice powder and laid it in front of us.

While the floor, of course already decorated with a beautiful pattern, was being hosed down to make way for a new design, we took the time to get to know Vijaya and her art better.

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So what's Rangoli?

Rangoli is a traditional Indian art form done on the floor of a courtyard, typically with rice powder.

Hindus, Vijaya explains, believe that rangoli is created to welcome the gods and goddesses to bless a household with wealth, health and prosperity.

Apart from it being a beautiful piece of art, Vijaya says the creation of rangoli also provides psychological and physical value:

"We don't sit on the floor and do, we bend our legs. When we bend, it is a type of asana (yoga pose). It helps with the blood circulation."

Created rangoli since she was 6

Vijaya is Singaporean now, but she wasn't born here. She, in fact, hails from the town of Trichy, Tamil Nadu in India.

She recalls being first exposed to rangoli at age three, watching her mother doing it in the courtyard of their home every morning without fail, and started making her own small designs by the time she was six.

She remembers fondly how every year, from mid-December to mid-January, all the girls in her village filled their courtyards with rangoli designs to commemorate the divine month of Margazhi — an auspicious spiritual period for Tamils.

"I would go down the streets with a notebook and pen, and whenever I saw a design that I had never seen before, I would draw it in my notebook."

Moved to Singapore in 1992

She moved to Singapore in 1992, in her early 30s, to be with the rest of her family, who had moved here earlier when they found work here. Her siblings had found jobs here and brought their mother over as well. They subsequently helped Vijaya's husband find work here, and so she moved here too — chiefly for her mother, though, she says.

"My mother is here, so I wanted to be with her too."

Now, all four generations of her family — her mother, daughter and son-in-law, as well as two young grandsons — all live together under one roof.

And according to Vijaya, she rarely gets homesick because to her, home is where her family is.

Singapore inspired her own form of rangoli

It wasn't just her family that she brought along to Singapore — Vijaya brought her passion for rangoli to our shores too.

And if there's something she loves about Singapore, it's the fact that it's a melting pot of cultures and races — something she has incorporated into her own version of rangoli, which she calls Singarangoli.

And what is that exactly? Vijaya says it's a type of rangoli art that she does with Singaporeans, using a wider variety of materials other than traditional rice powder.

She has done rangoli art with unconventional materials like broken bangles, glass and even cotton buds too:

Sought after in places as far as America

Vijaya's humility belies her renown and her work, though — her rangoli art is so sought-after that she has actually worked with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as well as our past president(s!), listing them in passing as if they're no big deal:

"I've made rangoli with the PM (Lee Hsien Loong) a few times. Presidents, I have done it with Mr S R Nathan, Mr Tony Tan and soon, I'm going to do one with Mdm Halimah."

In 2012, she was also flown all the way to Nebraska, a midwestern U.S. state, to create a rangoli design for an American international conference.

And her American collaborations don't stop there: she also helmed a Singarangoli exhibition as part of the prestigious Artexpo New York in 2014.

And with all her other achievements (which we're not done telling you about, by the way), Vijaya humbly attributes her success to "God's doing":

"This is all God's doing, he is connecting people. We're destined to meet because he has sent them to me."

More than 20 Singapore Records, 1 Guinness World Record

As if all the above isn't enough, Vijaya whips out a pile of certificates that were spilling out of her hands.

Each one of them — 24 in total, by the way — represents a Singapore record that she holds to her name. One of them is a Guinness World Record.

Her local records include making the largest glass marble collage — this, she shares, was the most difficult one for her.

She worked with a group of people on Deepavali in 2016, creating the design with a total of 13,000 glass marbles.

However, when the representative for the Singapore Records was doing his calculation, it started to pour heavily:

"The artwork was floating on the floor and we didn't expect that. Luckily, it wasn't destroyed, but we were all wondering when was the rain going to stop?"

But the difficulty of attaining this record was nothing compared with the exhilaration of her Guinness World Record — for single-handedly making the world's largest rangoli pattern, right here in Singapore, at Whampoa Community Club.

On that effort, she says quite casually also:

"I took seven hours to finish it, without any breaks at all."

She got it from her mama

Listening to all these incredible achievements Vijaya has attained, we were all ready to crown her the best rangoli artist in the world — until she points out, rather matter-of-factly, that she still thinks her mother is the better artist between the two of them.

As she shared with us, her 95-year-old mother used to do rangoli art every day, and was doing so until well into her early 90s.

It was only her declining eyesight and weakening legs that eventually stopped her from continuing to do so, but when she met us, much to our surprise and honour, she pulled up a table, sat down in front of it, and pinched rice flour from a small bag to draw fine, straight lines, a perfect geometric pattern emerging from the recesses of her brain — certainly out of nowhere:

She did this in a matter of minutes, while still adding sheepishly in Tamil:

"I could do better ones if my eyesight wasn't so poor."

It is no wonder that Vijaya's biggest inspiration is her mother.

Students call her rangoli lao shi

Aside from actually creating rangoli, Vijaya is also passionate about imparting her Indian culture and traditions to others.

Fondly known as "rangoli lao shi" among her students, she observed that individuals with special needs, stroke and dementia often express themselves beautifully through arts and colours.

This persuaded her to take up a Master's degree course in Art Therapy at LASALLE College of the Arts, which she graduated from in 2007 at the ripe age of 48.

Having long since made Singapore her home, Vijaya remains dedicated to helping fellow Singaporeans with special needs by incorporating the art of rangoli and her knowledge of art therapy, even if it takes a lot of time to do so.

"It's a process. It helps me get involved and helps them to connect with the colours and designs."

Vijaya's story was first featured in this nice clip featuring Singaporeans making good of their personal passions:

Top image by Fasiha Nazren

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