Prime Minister Narendra Modi made Hazaribagh's day on Sunday morning, when he mentioned the city in the 16th edition of his monthly radio address to the nation, Mann ki Baat.

Equating cleanliness with beauty, the Prime Minister mentioned how the walls of the Hazaribagh railway station had murals of sohrai and khovar paintings, something he had seen when he came here to inaugurate the station and Hazaribagh-Koderma railway stretch last year on February 20.

It's something that sohrai artist Rukmani Devi can't stop beaming about.

"Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to the whole country about the tribal art forms of the district in his Mann ki Baat. I'm feeling very proud that he remembers what he saw," said the artist who was among the group of artists asked by CRPF 22 battalion commandant Munna Kumar Singh to paint the station murals.

Rukmani added that she was among those keeping the ancient art forms alive. "Generations of people from Barkagaon and Keredari have painted the walls of their houses with combs, brooms and natural colours sourced from black, yellow, red and whitish soils, cow dung, coal and even powdered leaves.

Now, Rukmani is a part of Paint Your City, a wall beautification programme announced by Hazaribagh deputy commissioner Mukesh Kumar.

The dynamic DC, who had conceptualised the campaign with a three-fold aim, beautifying civic walls with tribal art forms to give them a fresh lease of life, encouraging tourist footfall, interest in and respect for the art, and discouraging people from spitting or urinating on the adorned walls, also expressed his joy over Modi's speech on Sunday.

"Let me congratulate everyone in Hazaribagh and urge citizens to be a part of the Paint your City campaign. I want all walls on main roads, schools and government buildings to showcase these two art forms," DC Kumar said.

"Let's paint all government buildings, official residences, government and private schools. Come and contribute colours for this purpose. It's your city, so paint your city. Fill the colours with your full energy," DC Kumar urged the people of Hazaribagh while speaking to The Telegraph .

At present, boundary walls of the official residences on Lake Road in Hazaribagh have sohrai and khovar murals. Boundary walls of residences, including those of Kumar, SDO, DIG and commissioner of North Chotanagpur and others sport the fascinating tribal motifs.

Block officials have also started taking up this unique campaign in the areas of their jurisdiction.

Calling it a matter of pride that the Prime Minister had mentioned the art forms in Hazaribagh in his radio address to the nation, the first one in 2016, CRPF's Singh said: "This is an important step in getting the two art forms national attention."

Rukmani, making the surface of a wall on Lake Road plain before painting on it, added: "For tribal artists like me, my sons Ashok and Santosh Prajapati and daughters-in-law Sushma and Babita, who help me in my work, it's a great day, because so many people of our country who had never heard about our work, now do so, all thanks to Modi ji."