A Kolkata Grandmother Draws Alpona at Strangers' Doorsteps Each Morning
In short
- Ratnabali Ghosh, 74, known as Alpona Didi, starts work at 5:30 AM in Kolkata.
- She draws traditional Bengali alpona designs at homes, shopfronts and restaurant entrances.
- Arthritis makes the work harder, but she says she will not give up.
Why the Good News Desk likes this one
Alpona is a rangoli-style floor art tied to Bengali festivals and homes, and it is quietly disappearing. Ratnabali Ghosh continues the practice as a gift to people passing by, not for payment. Her work shows how a tradition survives when one person chooses to carry it forward.
From The Better India
Kolkata's 74-year-old Ratnabali Ghosh aka "Alpona Didi" wakes at 5:30 AM everyday to draw alpona outside strangers' doors, just to make them smile. every day to draw traditional Bengali alpona outside strangers' doorsteps, just to make them smile. Inspired by her mother, Ratnabali believes art is about making people feel welcome, valued and less alone. Even as age and arthritis make her work harder, she refuses to give up. This Durga Puja, discover how Alpona Didi is keeping Bengal's fading folk art alive, one doorstep at a time. From residential buildings to shopfronts and restaurant...
Ask this story
For kids
Every morning in Kolkata, an old lady named Ratnabali wakes up very early. She draws pretty patterns called alpona outside the doors of people she has never met. She does it so that people feel welcome when they step outside. Have you ever drawn a pattern for someone else?
