Union Budget 2025: Who is Dulari Devi, the Dalit artist who presented Nirmala Sitharaman's budget day Madhubani saree?
The saree was a gift from Padma Shri awardee Dulari Devi, a self-taught Madhubani artist from Bihar. The finance minister met Dulari Devi during her visit to the Mithila Art Institute in Madhubani for a credit outreach event.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her 8th consecutive budget on Saturday, February 1. As she made her way to Parliament, many also took note of the saree Sitharaman was wearing on Budget Day. FM Sitharaman wore a beautiful off-white saree with Madhubani artwork.
CREDIT: REUTERS
Nirmala Sitharaman's budget day saree
The saree was a gift from Padma Shri awardee Dulari Devi, a self-taught Madhubani artist from Bihar. The finance minister met Dulari Devi during her visit to the Mithila Art Institute in Madhubani for a credit outreach event, where she presented the saree to Sitharaman and requested her to wear it on Budget Day.
As a tribute to Madhubani art and Dulari Devi's exceptional skill, Sitharaman honoured the request by wearing the gifted saree to present the Budget on Saturday.
CREDIT: ARTS OF INDIA
Who is Dulari Devi
Dulari Devi's journey to becoming a celebrated Madhubani artist is nothing short of inspiring. She comes from a fisherman community, which traditionally was not involved in painting. However, she developed a passion for the art form while working for Karpoori Devi, an accomplished Madhubani painter.
Despite facing multiple hardships¡ªbeing abandoned by her husband at 16, losing her child, and working as a domestic helper for 16 years¡ªDulari Devi never gave up.
CREDIT: ARTS OF INDIA
Using art to bring social change
Her paintings also spread awareness of important social issues like child marriage, AIDS, and female foeticide. Over the years, she has created 10,000 paintings and displayed them in over 50 exhibitions across India.
She has also trained more than 1,000 students through organisations like the Mithila Art Institute and Seva Mithila Sansthan, ensuring that the traditional art form thrives in future generations.
CREDIT: PIB
Dulari Devi was also awarded the Padma Shri in 2021.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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