A surplus of sarees and the art of giving halwa

A couple of hours before the presentation of the Union Budget, Indian newsrooms, especially television studios, assume a sense of (self) importance akin to the mission control room of a rocket launching station.

Both are on countdown mode; the difference is that while rocket scientists have many systems and subsystems to monitor before the lift-off, television commentators grope in the dark as the Union finance minister keeps Budget details confidential till she delivers the speech.

And, when newsroom discussions on broad economic parameters and Budget expectations become repetitive, stories beg for some ‘colour’. This time, too, the colour came from the finance minister’s attire.

“There she is,” exclaimed a reporter, “Nirmala Sitharaman in a magenta Kancheevaram saree!” A website went into more details … “it has a maroon base with a contrasting border and subtle gold detailing, paired with a yellow blouse … She uses the occasion to highlight India’s traditional textiles and support artisan communities.”

Another added perspective on the finance minister’s wardrobe, listing all the sarees Nirmala had worn while presenting her nine Budgets. Some journalists might have employed more of their imagination than their investigative skills while analysing the finance minister’s choice of saree colours.

In 2020, one said, she wore a yellow silk saree with a green border, and that yellow signified optimism, green stood for stability; in 2021, it was a red-and-off-white saree “to symbolize recovery and resilience”.

The finance minister’s sourcing of the Budget sarees, however, seems to be purposeful, to wear her love for national integration on her sleeve.

For her first Budget presentation, she was draped in a pink silk Mangalagiri saree from Andhra Pradesh (not my original research); for her third, she chose a Pochampally saree from Telangana. In 2022, it was a rust-coloured Bomkai from Odisha, the following year, a red silk from Karnataka.

For the 2024-25 interim Budget, Nirmala was draped in a tussar silk from Bengal, the next year she sported an off-white saree featuring Madhubani fish motifs from Bihar. This time she chose a traditional Kancheevaram from her home state of Tamil Nadu.

Whether it sends out a message of handloom harmony or not, Nirmala’s sartorial statement is a welcome change from the days of Pranab Mukherjee (who presented most of his eight Budgets in ‘bandhgala’ (closed neck) jackets, and six-time Budget master Manmohan Singh who was nicknamed ‘Blue Turban’.

Nirmala is also credited with replacing the leather ‘Budget briefcase’ (the word ‘budget’ comes from the French word ‘bougette’ that means leather bag) with a ‘bahi khata’, a red fabric ledger traditionally used by Indian traders. While replacing the Budget papers with a digital tablet, the finance minister has retained the ‘bahi khata’ as its sleeve.

What hasn’t changed over the years is the ceremonialism over the Budget. The halwa ritual, for one. For those who haven’t asked AI what it’s all about, for more than 40 years the finance minister has been feeding halwa to officials (and the attendant journalists) involved in Budget preparation, in the basement of the North Block, which also houses the Budget press.

This marks the beginning of the lock-in period, when they would be cut off from the outside world till the Budget is printed and presented.
The lock-in practice started after a Budget leak in 1950.

Possibly to make this isolation slightly bearable, the finance minister started feeding them halwa about four decades ago. With the Budget going digital, the quarantine period has been reduced from two weeks to about five days.

This time, the officials were in the basement since Jan 27. Nirmala Sitharaman holds the record for giving halwa for nine consecutive years.

END OF ARTICLE