A small village in Nachol Upazila of Chapainawabganj district is called Tikoil. And every wall of Tikoil village is like an open canvas. On that canvas, the people of Tikoil village have painted all the Alponas. Therefore, the village is called The Alpona Village/A to many people from home and abroad. Village of Alpona) became known as.
Alpanas are mainly drawn by village housewives and girls. They have been cherishing their traditions from generation to generation for years. The walls of every house made of clay become colored by the scratching of tuli, even the kitchen is not left out from Alpana’s touch. Alpanas are painted in clay houses with self-made paints and the main raw material for painting alpanas comes from clay.
At one time chalk (clay), girimati, paint and turpentine oil were used to paint these Alpanas. But the durability of those alpanas was less, so nowadays alpanas are painted by soaking a mixture made of girimati, dry plum paste, old mango pulp, chalk powder, different colors, manakchu and banana bark for 4 to 5 days. And this alpana lasted for more than a year.
Locals believe that these alpana bring purity to the house and keep the mind of all family members happy. However, the people of the village do not have a clear idea about how such a tradition was born in Tik’il village. Yet the ancestral tradition continues to be preserved in various festivals, festivals and auspicious occasions.
How to go
The distance of Chapainawabganj by road from the capital Dhaka is 296 km and the distance of Chapainawabganj Sadar from Alpana village is 28 km. Chapainawabganj can be directly reached by road from Dhaka. Several transport companies including Hanif Enterprise, Ekta Enterprise, National Travels, KTC Hanif, Evergreen Transport depart for Chapainawabganj regularly from Kalyanpur and Gabtali Bus Terminals in Dhaka. AC/Non-AC buses will cost Tk 820 to 1400. You can also go to Chapainawabganj by Banlata Express train from Dhaka’s Kamalapur railway station 6 days a week except Friday. To go by train, the fare will be Tk 515 to Tk 1,173 per seat.
From Chapainawabganj district headquarters, there is a system to go to Nachol upazila by train. Also from Chapainawabganj you can hire bus, taxi and CNG to go to Alpana village.