Dulari Devi, a renowned Mithila painter from Bihar, had met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam when the latter visited Madhubani last year and gifted her a saree with Madhubani painting, requesting her to wear it during her Budget speech.
On Saturday, the finance minister obliged, wearing the same saree in a gesture highlighting the significance of the internationally acclaimed art from Mithila region and the exquisite craftsmanship of the Madhubani art
During her visit for a credit outreach programme at the Mithila Art Institute, Padma Shri Award winner Dulari Devi had told her about the intricacies of the Madhubani art and how sarees are painstakingly prepared.
In 2021 Dulari Devi had also gifted Prime Minister Narendra Modi her artwork during his informal interaction with the recipients of Padma awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Modi had also expressed his gratitude towards Dulari for her gift on X (then twitter) with a picture with Dulari Devi.
A self-taught artiste, Dulari Devi belongs to a fisherman community, not traditionally known for painting, but she developed interest in the art in the company of famed Madhubani painters Mahasundari Devi and Karpoori Devi and pursued it with full passion despite growing family hardships and loss of her child.
The 53-year-old artist cannot read or write. She never went to school and was married off at the age of 13. Her husband abandoned her when she was 16 after her infant daughter also died.
Her paintings have intricate social messages against child marriage, HIV-AIDS, female fowricode, polio eradication, struggles of women in rural anreas etc. and she has had the distraction of displaying them at multiple exhibitions. Though herself not trained, she has trained over 1000 budding artistes to pass on the skills of the traditional Mirhila art.
An overwhelmed Dulari Devi said that it was great to see the finance minister wearing her saree. “I had never dreamt of seeing my saree reach the portals of Parliament. But this has happened. It is great gesture on part of the finance minister to bless me,” she said, while talking to media persons.
JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha said that Sitharaman had honoured Mithila area and Bihar with her gesture of wearing Madhubani painting saree. “On behalf of the entire Mithila and Bihar, I extend my gratitude that the Finance Minister put on a saree with Madhubani painting on it as she presents the Union Budget. We were there with her when the 2021 Padma Shri Dulari Devi gifted her the saree. She had requested FM to wear it when she presents the Budget. I thank her that she wore the saree today and gave a message,” he added.
