Painting by nature is a luminous language and self-taught Ranchi artist Suman Dwivedi won't need words to communicate with her favourite players.
Nearly a dozen of her Madhubani paintings are dotting the sixth floor lobby at Radisson Blu, where teams India and New Zealand dropped anchor on Monday afternoon in the run-up to the much-anticipated ODI scheduled at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Dhurwa on Wednesday.
A resident of Hatia and cricket enthusiast, the 45-year-old homemaker is a diehard fan of both Indian skipper M.S. Dhoni and NewZealand captain Kane Williamson, and couldn't turn down the request to paint welcome canvases for the two teams.
"Nandini Gupta, the owner of Radisson, asked me for 11 Madhubani paintings. I was super excited over the order not because it came from a luxury hotel, but because my favourite players will be there to look at my paintings. Our Dhoni has become the fifth Indian player to score 9,000 ODI runs. What better present could I possibly make for him," said Suman who had gifted one of her paintings at the skipper's wedding in 2011.
Besides the two captains, the artist also enjoys the batting skills of Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Ross Taylor, and the measured pace of bowler Tim Southee, she says. No wonder she took more than a month since September to complete her masterpieces, which make generous use of natural colours derived from flowers and vegetables.
"Art is a language. It is silent poetry. My Madhubani paintings are women-centric. There is a dancing girl; a bride waiting for her groom; a woman plucking flowers; and another carrying dahi handi. There are intricate details. I have put in a lot of hard work. I hope the teams like it," Suman said.
The 11 Madhubani paintings were delivered to Radisson in the first week of October and the homemaker was rewarded handsomely - Rs 1.5 lakh to be precise - for a job well done. But, it is not the money that matters to Suman, it is the recognition that counts.
"It is a matter of great pride for me. I would be glad to make more paintings for the players. I would even want them to take some home as keepsake," she said after hosting Madhubani enthusiasts at her stall at the recent Diwali Mela in Morabadi.
A native of Bihar, Suman's love for Madhubani art bloomed two decades ago and she soon carved a niche for herself, with many Bollywood celebrities and foreign nationals among her patrons. "In 1997, I met women artists of Madhubani district and felt inspired. For the next six years, I groomed myself," she said.
After her husband Dr H.N. Dwivedi was transferred to Bhagalpur in 2002, she opened a Madhubani art school for over 400 girls there. Yet another transfer brought her to Jharkhand in 2007, where her home now doubles up as a Madhubani and Kohbar training centre for some 600 women.
