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HomeTop NewsBudget 2025: Nirmala Sitharaman's Saree Honours Bihar's Madhubani Artist Dulari Devi

Budget 2025: Nirmala Sitharaman’s Saree Honours Bihar’s Madhubani Artist Dulari Devi

New Delhi [India]: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is often recognized for making impactful statements through her sarees on Budget Day. Each year, she chooses a saree that reflects India’s rich textile heritage and traditional craftsmanship, and this year was no exception.

This year, Sitharaman donned a stunning off-white saree adorned with intricate golden work, paired with a red blouse and shawl. She also carried her signature ‘bahi-khata’, a tablet wrapped in a red cloth featuring a golden national emblem.

However, this saree held more significance than just its design—it told a unique story.

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 Dulari presented the saree and asked her to wear it on Budget Day.

To honor Madhubani art and Dulari Devi’s extraordinary talent, Sitharaman fulfilled the request and wore the gifted saree while presenting the Budget on Saturday.

Dulari Devi’s journey to becoming a renowned Madhubani artist is truly inspiring. Coming from a fisherman community traditionally not involved in painting, Dulari found her passion for the art while working with Karpoori Devi, a renowned Madhubani painter. Despite facing severe hardships—being abandoned by her husband at 16, losing her child, and working as a domestic helper for 16 years—Dulari never gave up.

Her paintings often shed light on important social issues such as child marriage, AIDS, and female foeticide. Over the years, she has created over 10,000 paintings and exhibited them in more than 50 exhibitions across India. Furthermore, Dulari has trained over 1,000 students through organizations like the Mithila Art Institute and Seva Mithila Sansthan, helping to preserve and promote the traditional art form for future generations.

This isn’t the first time Nirmala Sitharaman has used her saree to celebrate India’s textile heritage. Over the years, her choice of sarees on Budget Day has highlighted different traditional weaves and fabrics.

In 2019, she wore a pink Mangalgiri silk saree with gold borders. In 2020, she chose a yellow silk saree with green-lined borders, symbolizing hope and prosperity. In 2021, she wore a red and white Pochampally silk saree to promote Indian weaving communities. In 2022, she sported a brown and maroon Bomkai saree from Odisha, showcasing regional craftsmanship. For the 2023 Budget, Sitharaman opted for a red silk saree with black Kasuti embroidery from Karnataka. And in 2024, she wore a blue Tussar silk saree with Kantha embroidery from West Bengal.

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