For those invited by President Droupadi Murmu for her customary evening reception or “At Home” on the occasion of the 79th Independence Day, the invitation sent in her name will showcase the skills of craftspersons from Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal — a nod to eastern India, following a similar gesture toward southern India during this year’s Republic Day celebrations.

The invitations have been curated by the National Institute of Design (NID) and produced with contributions from artisans across the four States. Most of the artisans, many of them women, worked alongside the NID team. Of them, nine Madhubani artists from Bihar and 15 bamboo artisans from Jharkhand worked out of the NID Bengaluru campus.

According to Ashok Kumar Biswas, Padma Shri awardee in 2024 and the artist entrusted with producing nearly 750 pieces of Tikuli artwork from Bihar to accompany the invitation, the brief from NID – which coordinated the initiative with Rashtrapati Bhavan – was precise.

“They wanted a lightweight example of Tikuli painting, which is usually based on scenes of rural life in Bihar or cultural and religious motifs, festivals, etc. They asked for three types of samples: on the traditional Tikuli base of MDA [dark brown in colour] with enamel paint, on handmade paper, and on small pieces of cardboard and plywood. I prepared a fourth sample, on paper, made to look like the dark brown Tikuli base, and sent it off. They approved the fourth sample and asked for 750 pieces to be sent in 15 days, which we completed at the Tikuli training centre that I run,” he said. “It is a matter of great pride for me to be asked to do this by the President of India’s office, for an occasion like Independence Day. It’s a good initiative that places India’s folk art at the centre of the Republic,” he added.

The invitation will be encased in a Sikki grass box made by artisans from Raiyam village in Madhubani district, with 30 artists involved in the work. Woven delicately from Sikki grass, the box will contain a bamboo frame holding the invitation itself, with painted borders by artists from Dumka in Jharkhand. This foldable frame can be reused as a photo frame after the event.

In addition to the box and frame, the invitation set includes small artefacts such as a bookmark featuring Madhubani painting, and a tussar stole with Madhubani painting and traditional block printing of symbols like Matsya (fish), Kamal (lotus), and Basant (spring). Also included are Tala Patachitra paintings by artisans from Raghurajpur in Puri, postcard-sized Patachitra paintings by artists from Pingla village in West Midnapore, Paitkar paintings from East Singhbhum in Jharkhand, and postcard-sized Tikuli artworks from Patna.