After going in for a minor surgery, Bhargavii Mani had a stroke which left her without vision and memory of the last ten years of her life. A photographer and designer, she used the power of art to heal by making kolams, South Indian geometric floor drawings made of rice flour also known as rangolis in other parts of India. And now she inspires others to make them as the founder of the Kolam Podu project. Here in part one of the story, Bhargavii shares with me, Mehar, in Chennai, the trauma of recovery and what led her to kolams.