Draped in saree with Madhubani art, FM’s focus on Mithila in poll-bound Bihar

PATNA: Dulari Devi, a renowned Mithila painter from Bihar, met finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman when the latter visited Madhubani last year and gifted her a saree with Madhubani painting, requesting her to wear it during her next budget speech.

On Saturday, the finance minister obliged, wearing the same saree in a gesture highlighting the artwork from Mithila region and the exquisite craftsmanship behind Madhubani art

During Sitharaman’s visit for a credit outreach programme at the Mithila Art Institute, Devi, a Padma Shri Award winner, told her about the intricacies of the Madhubani art and how the sarees are painstakingly prepared.

In 2021, 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 her.

A self-taught artiste, Devi belongs to a fisherman community, not traditionally known for painting but she developed interest in the art under the mentoship of famous 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 died.

Her paintings have intricate social messages against child marriage, HIV-AIDS, female foeticide, 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 1,000 budding artistes to pass on the skills of the traditional Mirhila art.

Devi said that it was great to see the finance minister wearing the saree she gifted her. “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.

Sitharaman announced the formation of ‘Makhana board’ for the Mithila region in poll-bound Bihar that will provide training support and financial assistance to farmers.

She also announced the Paschimi Kosi Nahar yojana, which will provide irrigation to 50,000 hectares to help farmers in the Mithila region.

“The announcements will unlock new opportunities for farmers and entrepreneurs! The Makhana board will enhance production, processing, value addition and marketing, driving economic growth in Mithila and Bihar. A game-changer for the region’s agricultural economy,” said Rajya Sabha lawmaker Sanjay Jha.

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 Madhubani saree 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 the minister to wear it when she presented the Budget. I thank her that she wore the saree today and gave a message,” he added.