In Kerala, South India, a tradition of ephemeral paintings, to communicate with the gods, is perpetuated from father to son. Mr. Kurup moves in homes or in temples to celebrate propitiatory rites, called Kalam pattu elluttu, drawing paintings on the floor. He prepares his house which colored powders used to make these plots, from crushed minerals and plants: black (charred rice balls), white (rice stripped of its hull), green (Siris, so acacia), yellow (turmeric rhizomes) and red (a mixture of lime and turmeric). A family that offers an annual ceremony in honor of the goddess-mother, for the protection and prosperity of the house, invited Mr Kurup. After having purified the place of Kalam with prayers and offerings, he traces the figure of the goddess slaying the asura Darikan Bhadrakali. Mr. Kurup was assisted by his son to whom he transmits this tradition (mastering the science of proportions and color, and the liturgy). Both invoke the deity by saying mantras and performing mudras (ritual postures of the hands). Then they sang the origin of the goddess and his exploits to the accompaniment of a percussion instrument, "the Iddeka.