A book of outline drawings to be coloured in — but not the kind usually put in front of a child to keep them busy. The designs here are mandalas, the circular, geometric patterns known internationally as Mandala Art. The word comes from the Sanskrit mandala, and the forms are built from geometric shapes arranged symmetrically around a centre.
At first glance they read simply as balanced patterns waiting for colour. The tradition behind them holds that there is more to it than that: the circles within the pattern are understood as a point of connection with a wider energy, and colouring one is described as an activity closer to meditation than to pastime. It is said to settle the mind and the spirit, to release tension and to support mental wellbeing. That is the claim the form carries, and it is the reason these particular patterns were chosen rather than ordinary illustrations.
Ishani Vidurangana has assembled a large number of such designs here. The text is in English, and the book is published by M. D. Gunasena & Co. (Pvt) Ltd, a Colombo publishing house with a long presence in Sri Lankan bookselling.
It suits an adult or an older child looking for something quiet to do with pencils or pens — anyone drawn to the slow, repetitive work of filling in a symmetrical figure one segment at a time. It will also interest readers curious about mandala art itself and wanting to approach it by hand rather than by reading about it.
- Author: Ishani Vidurangana
- Publisher: M. D. Gunasena & Co. (Pvt) Ltd
- Language: English
- Pages: 42
- ISBN: 9789552130410
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