Ruma Devi is a popular traditional craft artisan and social activist from Barmer, Rajasthan. She is the President of the Rajasthan NGO ‘Gramin Vikas Evam Chetna Sansthan Barmer’.
Wiki/Biography
Ruma was born in 1989 in Barmer, Rajasthan (age 30 in 2019). She dropped out of school in eighth grade.
family, caste and husband
She comes from a Hindu family. Her father was a small farmer and her mother died when she was 5 years old. She lived in a joint family and was raised by her uncle and aunt after her father’s second marriage. She has seven sisters, of whom she is the eldest. She got married when she was 16 and gave birth to her son in 2012. Due to financial constraints, her son was not given proper medication and died at the age of one and a half.
Profession
She came from a poor family, so she decided to do some work to make money. Her grandmother taught her embroidery and sewing. She formed a group of 10 local women (with the help of Mahila Baal Vikas Group) and collected Rs. Each member bought a sewing machine for 100 yuan. Under the guidance of a social activist named Vikram Singh, they started making cushions, bags and clothing. Later, more and more local women joined them, and their group grew from 10 members to 22,000 women.
Ruma Devi and her grandmother
Social Activist- Vikram Singh
On July 14, 1998, she founded Gramin Vikas and Chetna Sansthan (GVCS), a self-help group. The main motive behind setting up this group is to work towards the empowerment of women artisans. The ladies of this group are proficient in different styles of crafts including kantha stitch, embroidery, patchwork and other fabric printing techniques. Ruma Devi is the president of this self-help group.
Ruma Devi’s NGO
Her work is appreciated on both national and international platforms.
Products produced by her team can be found on the website shop.directcreate.com.
Ruma Devi Embroidery
In 2015, her handmade clothing collection was showcased at Lakme Fashion Week. She said in an interview——
My traditional attire, my yearning for barmer will never waver. Its uniqueness makes me who I am today. I could never get past Barmer or my desert state. That’s why I decided to locate my new store that opened last year in Jaipur instead of Delhi. “
Ruma Devi at the fashion show
Awards and Honors
- Shilpa Abhimani Award from the Government of Sri Lanka: Promotion of Handicrafts
- Dutch “Wings for Women” honor (2016)
- 2017 German Singapore Expo Honors: Handicraft Promotion
- Handicrafts Export Promotion Council, Ministry of Textiles, India (2018): Exemplary work in the handicrafts industry
- Nari Shakti Pruskar(2018)
- Featured on the cover of India Today Magazine (2018)
- World CSR Conference (2019): 51 Most Influential Innovators (Global List)
Ruma Devi receives Nari Shakti Puraskar
favorite thing
- Cuisine: Rajasthani cuisine
fact
- Ace fashion designer “Anita Dongre” had called Ruma to showcase her collection at Lakme Fashion Week (2012) but she declined the invitation as she was not confident on such a big platform.
- Her work has been praised by the British magazine Patchwork and Quilting. She has shown her work at fashion weeks in London, Germany, Singapore and Colombo.
Ruma Devi wins award
- She said in an interview that her real-life story is very similar to the Bollywood movie Sui Dhaaga (2018).
- Actor Varun Dhawan purchased Chanderi silk dupatta from her and gifted it to his sisters.
- She appeared on the cover of India Today Magazine (2018).
Ruma Devi on the cover of India Today
- She appeared in the “Karmaveer” episode (September 20, 2019) of Kaun Banega Crorepati 11 (2019), where she presented her artwork to Amitabh Bachchan. She was supported by Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha on the show.
Sony Entertainment Television September 19, 2019
- She hopes to establish an academy where students can learn traditional crafts.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education