SOUTH RIDING, Va. -- A Hindu painting on a Loudoun County driveway is costing a man $10 a day in fines.
In order to welcome guests to a thread ceremony for his 14-year-old son, Ram Balasubramanian painted a kolam on his driveway, which upset his homeowners' association, the Washington Post reported. He has been fined $10 per day since refusing to black out the six-foot design, reaching the maximum $900.
The kolam is a religious expression that welcomes the Hindu goddess of prosperity, as well as guests, into the home, said Balasubramanian, a Realtor and devout Hindu. It would be psychologically or emotionally painful to remove it, he said.
A thread ceremony is a coming-of-age ritual like confirmation or a bar mitzvah, the Post reported.
