ONE of the most recognisable traditional and cultural elements displayed during Deepavali celebrations is the beautiful, ornate kolam.
Typically made with coloured rice grains, kolams will certainly add a vibrant touch to this year’s festivities as Malaysians celebrate the Festival of Lights after a challenging couple of years.
In conjunction with Deepavali this year, celebrated next Monday (Oct 24), Hong Leong Bank has introduced a digital initiative enabling Malaysians to create their very own personalised kolam using technology.
All you have to do is to record 10 seconds of audio to generate soundwaves, and in turn, create a unique audio-generated kolam to use as an innovative Deepavali greeting!
There’s no limit to the number of kolams members of the public can create and they can personalise them further by selecting any of the five soundtracks available or writing their own Deepavali wishes to go with the kolams.
In a statement, Hong Leong Bank chief marketing and communications officer Zalman Zainal said the initiative reflects the bank’s focus on going one step further in delivering personalised experiences for its customers.
“We know that for today’s increasingly mobile-first consumers, festive celebrations also extend beyond the physical gatherings and visitations between families and friends,” he explained.
“Starting from the eve of any celebration, our messaging apps and social media feed would be flooded with festive greetings.
“While resharing interesting greetings are common, we know consumers love customising and personalising their content. Hence, we are very excited with the idea of using a fun and interesting way to digitally create kolams using soundwaves that can be further personalised.”
Zalman added that apart from them being a great way to celebrate the occasion, the e-kolams can also be a great conversation starter during the celebrations themselves.
“Here’s a tip: the more sounds you produce, the more intricate the design will be, so have fun with it,” he shared.
As a grand finale to celebrate Deepavali, Hong Leong Bank will compile all the recordings created by users to generate an “ultimate kolam” that would serve as the bank’s official Deepavali greeting.
There are also RM100 Shell e-vouchers up for grabs for 50 lucky audio-generated kolam creators. So, what else are you waiting for?
Visit www.hlb.com.my/deepavali to know more and be in the running to win! – Oct 19, 2022
Main photo credit: The Star
