Archive · 23 Aug 2026
3,000 Dhotis Create Record-Setting Onam Pookkalam in Kochi
Onam is a festival celebrated in Kerala with colourful flower carpets called pookkalams.
Usually, people use flowers to make these designs.
At a mall in Kochi, Ramraj Cotton used almost 3,000 white garments called dhotis, or mundus, instead.
The mundus were arranged in different colours and patterns.
Together, they formed a giant pookkalam about 30 feet wide.
The creation was named a Mundukalam.
The Asia Book of Records recognized it as Asia’s largest pookkalam made with mundus.
It shows how an old tradition can be celebrated in a new way.
Ramraj Cotton created a 30-foot-diameter pookkalam at Kochi’s Forum Mall using nearly 3,000 dhotis, or mundus.
The installation, called a “Mundukalam,” uses mundus in multiple colours arranged into an elaborate design.
The creation was recognized by the Asia Book of Records as Asia’s largest pookkalam made using mundus.
The display combines two symbols of Malayali culture: the traditional garment and Onam’s floral carpets.
The installation offers a contemporary, fabric-based version of Kerala’s traditional pookkalam celebration.
- Who
- Ramraj Cotton created the installation using nearly 3,000 dhotis, also known as mundus.
- What
- A 30-foot-diameter fabric pookkalam called a Mundukalam was created and recognized as Asia’s largest pookkalam made using mundus.
- When
- During the approach to and celebrations of Onam; the articles do not provide a specific date.
- Where
- Forum Mall in Kochi, Kerala.
- Why
- To celebrate Onam, the mundu, and Kerala’s cultural traditions through a contemporary version of a floral carpet.
- Installation name
- Mundukalam
- Materials
- Nearly 3,000 dhotis, or mundus
- Size
- 30-foot diameter
- Location
- Forum Mall, Kochi, Kerala
- Recognition
- Asia’s largest pookkalam made using mundus, according to the Asia Book of Records
- Creator
- Ramraj Cotton
- Cultural occasion
- Onam