70-Year-Old Retired Schoolteacher Makes Alpanas in Front of Strangers' Houses In Kolkata

While the festival of Diwali is over, the hangover is going to stay for a long time. The festival signifies the return of Lord Rama after the battle of Lanka. Diwali calls for a celebration that not only involves families but also people who are your well-wishers. People visit each other’s homes with a present and sweets to celebrate their time together.

Rangolis are quite popular on Diwali and people love decorating their houses. Now, imagine one fine Diwali, you wake up and find a huge and beautiful rangoli at your doorstep. Something similar happened in Kolkata where residents of random households in North Kolkata saw an alpana made by someone overnight at their doorstep.

The woman responsible for making alpanas in front of strangers’ houses was a 70-year-old artist named Ratnaboli Ghosh. Alpana is a similar artform to rangoli and is made in the form of Goddess Lakshmi, Sun, fish and peacock.

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The 70-year-old retired schoolteacher Ratnabholi took it upon herself to present the art form she had learnt from the Modern Indian Art’s Nandlal Ghosh. Old historic houses that are being tested over time saw the alpanas made overnight by Ratnaboli.

The 70-year-old has included this practice in her daily routine. Ratnaboli wakes up at 6:30 AM every day and travels from her home in Deshapriya park, South Kolkata to the streets of North Kolkata and draws the beautiful alpanas in front of the city’s oldest residences.

Alpanas are a South Asian folk-art style that is practised by Bengalis. Alpanaa or Alpona, the art style looks similar to rangoli, but the difference is alpanas always have a distinct symbol related to the religious festival it is made for.

For example, in Durga Puja, the alponas will contain symbols that are closely related or in some way represent Goddess Durga. The pigment used for alpanas is made with rice flour and water and the paint is applied by the artist’s fingertips, a small twig or a piece of cotton thread that is soaked in the dye, or fabric.

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