www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk
LOUDOUN, VA, USA, December 7, 2008: Ram Balasubramanian had painted a kolam, an auspicious Hindu religious symbol, on his driveway for a family event. The six-foot design of swirling red and white paint was pretty enough, but his homeowners association was not impressed. They sent a stern certified letter ordering him to remove it and “return the asphalt to a black state.”
Balasubramanian can’t bear the idea of blacking out the kolam, he says, because it is a religious expression welcoming Sri Lakshmi, Goddess of prosperity into the home. For every day that he refused to remove it, the association charged Balasubramanian $10, which has now accrued to the maximum $900 fine. “If I have to remove it, it’s going to be with a lot of pain,” said Balasubramanian, 47.
After an exchange of e-mails with the association, Balasubramanian organized an energetic appeal, polling 20 of his immediate neighbors to see whether they objected to the kolam. Nobody did, but the board was not moved.