Simple Alpona Design with Flowers for Diwali Festival
Simple alpona design with flowers for Diwali celebrations by me in front of my house.
How to Draw Alpona with Rice Flour Paste
Alpona art is done with liquid rice flour paste. A small piece of soft cloth is dipped in it and designs are drawn by gently squeezing the wet cloth with rice flour paste as you draw the design. When the water dries off the design stands out white and clear.
Simple traditional alpona floor design
Alpona with Flowers for Diwali
I am not an expert at it, but some how managed to get some kind of decent symmetry in the design. As the design dried up I filled it up with flower petals to add some color. It took me three hours to complete it.
Religious Significance to Alpona Art
Alpona art is drawn using rice flour, this act is known by the name bhutayajna. This act of offering rice flour through alpona on floor to tiny creatures like ants and other insects is counted as one’s good deed of the day.
Bengali women draw easy alpona on door step and puja rooms, especially during Lakshmi Puja, that is celebrated on full moon night (Sharad Purnima) after 10th day of Durga Puja festival. Little designs rembling foot prints are drawn right from entrance to Puja room and all other rooms. It is believed that Goddess Lakshmi visits every household at night and enters the rooms where the footsteps are drawn and showers her blessings. No footsteps, no blessings!
During Diwali it is a ritual in every Hindu household to light lamps. People also add colorful designs around the lamps and put alpona designs in front of their houses. They call it Rangoli.
Rangoli translates to row of colors. It is a form of freehand art expressed on the floor during festive occasions. It has its origin in Maharashtra. Alpona is a subset of Rangoli. Origin of Alpona art can be credited to women of Bengal.
Alpana Design with rice flour paste (lot of flaws in the art with my unsteady hand, sorry for that)
Alpona designs and lamps
Other forms of Rangoli are Aripana (practiced in Bihar), Mandana (floor paintings of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh), Kolam (practiced in Tamil Nadu).
Commercialization hasn’t spared this art too. Market shelves are stuffed with painted transparent sheets (stickers) of alpona designs. I won’t be surprised if there are Chinese versions too. But please call them Chioli or Chiona or Cholam and NOT Rangoli or Alpona or Kolam.
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Indrani madam
Namaste and Happy Diwali wishes to you. Indrani madam first time i heard about Alpona and its process. Madam this look similar like a Rangoli pattern.
Indrani madam this is my Diwali message "Lamps of India"
http://indian-heritage-and-culture.blogspot.in/2013/09/lamps-of-india.html
Indrani madam please look into my Lamps of India message and give your valuable comments.
Thank you so much for your comments friends.
The flowers used were yellow and orange marigold and pink chrysanthemums.
It's very beautiful…..interesting too to hear about the creation process. Thanks for sharing this Indrani.
Ruby – Starry Universe
Nice work.
Beautiful! Great work!
Have a nice weekend!
Very beautiful.
What kind of flowers where used to create the elaborate
decorations?
Thank you,
Gisela
Beautiful!
Beautiful, indrani!
Greetings, RW & SK
That is lovely indrani 🙂 you have lots of patience. ..
Wow, that's very nice! I've never tried anything like that.
Very nice & neat, Indrani!
Looks wonderful for the festive season & celebration! :)_
I use my hands- fingers directly & no cloth to make the designs! 🙂
Such great design excellent!
Very creative and beautiful:) this is the first time I am seeing Alpona and I liked the concept behind Alpona. I am going to try this.Thanks for sharing this :):)
3 hours? Whoa! Btw that's really lovely.
That sounds like it requires a lot of skill and patience!
Your eye never fails, Indrani㊙
Aloha
It's very beautiful, Indrani. Though you deny it, you seem like an expert to me.
Beautiful!
WOW! I think this is amazing!
I like it very much. Such a creative design, OMG. I will also try it at home 🙂
Oh this is so beautiful 🙂
Nice one….The lamp adds to the show 🙂
It's really beautiful and colorful Alpona,which we call Rangoli.
Very creative design! It has come out so beautifully!
nice one !
Oh! ITS BEAUTIFUL!
Wow! That is beautiful 🙂
Wow, that's really beautiful 🙂
I am terrible at such things!! Loved your alpona a lot!! 🙂
I hv seen peep using only dry floour until now… wet rice flour is new to me! Beautiful it indeed is
I like the design very much.
It is a beautiful design, thank you for sharing it Indrani 🙂
This is so lovely Alpona Indrani.. 😀
How beautiful Indrani! 🙂
The 3 h were worthwhile, it looks beautiful !
Beautifully done.
Buona domenica…ciao
wonderful
Very nice Indrani.
Greetings and a nice sunday, Joop
Beautifully done.Bengalis are noted for their skill in Alpana
beautiful mam ,decorated well
It's is really beautiful!
You say you're not an expert, but this looks beautiful to me.
how beautiful, indrani!