Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Union Budget today, February 1. Prior to delivering the budget in Lok Sabha, Sitharaman met President Droupadi Murmu and visited the Ministry of Finance. While leaving the Ministry of Finance, she posed with her team ahead of the budget session. She can be seen donning a white saree with a golden border.
The white saree has Madhubani art along the borders and a red blouse completes the traditional white saree. Madhubani art is a type of painting which is practiced in the Mithila region of India and Nepal. It is named after the Madhubani district of Bihar, India, which is where it is believed to have originated.
The saree is also a tribute to the skill of Padma awardee Dulari Devi.
Dulari Devi is a 2021 Padma Shri awardee. During FM's visit to Madhubani, she met Dulari Devi and had a cordial exchange of thoughts on Madhubani art in Bihar. Dulari Devi had presented the saree and asked FM to wear it for the budget day.
Dulari Devi is a prominent Madhubani artist and she received the Padma Shri in 2021. She comes from fisherman community who are usually not involved in the art-form. Devi picked it up from her employer Karpoori Devi, who is also an accomplished painter and went on become a nationally recognised artist.
She overcame several adversities in life. She was abandoned by her husband at the age of 16, lost her child and also worked ad a housemaid for 16 years. Even though she experienced hardships, she went to make 10,000 paintings that have ben displayed in more than 50 exhibitions. She has trained more than 1,000 students and continues to train students.
Madhubani paintings are usually made using fingers or twigs, brushes, nib-pens and matchsticks. The paint is made using natural dyes and pigments. The paintings have eye-catching geometrical patterns and they mostly depict people and their association with nature and scenes and deities from the ancient epics. Natural objects like the sun, the moon, and religious plants like tulsi are also widely painted.
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