Kolkata church celebrates inclusivity with Hindu alpona art conceptualised by a Muslim. Watch – India Today

Mudar Patheriya conceived the idea and approached the parish council at the 150-year-old Sacred Heart Church at Dharmtala. The Church welcomed the idea.

The paintings were done by veteran alpona artists Ratnaboli Ghosh and Lipika Mukherjee along with Prashun Sen.

By Suryagni Roy: At a time when there are reports of communal disharmony mushrooming in different parts of the country, a unified effort to celebrate inclusivity reaffirmed Kolkata’s tag of being called the ‘City of Joy’.

‘Alpona’ a traditional Bengali artwork mostly seen in puja pandals and Bengali households, is being painted at a church for Christmas.

The biggest message that the organisers want to give is that an alpona can weave communities together. The intricate alpona was created at Sacred Heart Church in Dharamtala, Kolkata.

It was Mudar Patheriya who conceived the idea and approached the parish council at the 150-year-old Sacred Heart Church at Dharmtala. The Church welcomed the idea.

Watch the video here:

Indian Today spoke to Mudar and the artists, Ratnabali Ghosh, Prashanta Sain and Lipika Mukherjee and Sunil Lucas, the parish council member.

“The idea of the alpona in December and around Christmas is to fuse what is essentially seen as a Hindu motif across different communities – an artistic motif running through different people and backgrounds” said Mudar Patheriya told India Today.

“Mudar approached me and asked me if we could do it. The parish priest supported it and said it was a beautiful idea. Time to bring inclusivity. We are painting it to welcome Jesus. We see alpona is used to welcome Devis and Devtas. The artisans are Hindus and they were extremely happy to paint alponas in the Church. It is time to bring inclusivity as we live in a multi-cultural pluralistic society” said Sunil Lucas, member of the parish council at the Sacred Hearts Church.

Not only the church, but the artists too were extremely elated to be a part of something which they considered ‘beautiful’. The paintings were done by veteran alpona artists Ratnaboli Ghosh and Lipika Mukherjee along with Prashanta Sain.

“I have been painting it all my life. The theme was Mudar, he was the inspiration behind it. Alpona has no caste or creed. It is to tell people that something happy is happening. Yes, it is seen in Hindu households, but it is to show celebrations and happiness. Alpona has no religion” Ratnaboli Ghosh told India Today.