Neelamani Devi is an Indian craftswoman and master potter from

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

. Her creations have been the theme of two documentary films; ''Mittee aur Manab'' by renowned filmmaker,

Mani Kaul Mani Kaul (25 December 1944 – 6 July 2011) was an Indian director of Hindi films and a reputed figure in Indian parallel cinema. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) where he was a student of Ritwik Ghatak and ...

, and ''Nilamani: The Master Potter of Manipur'', by

Aribam Syam Sharma Aribam Syam Sharma is an Indian filmmaker and composer from Manipur. He debuted in the first Manipuri film ''Matamgi Manipur'' as an actor. In 1974, he directed his first movie ''Lamja Parshuram''. It became the first Manipuri film to run for 100 ...

. The TV Series,

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

also featured her works on one of the episodes. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, in 2007, for her contributions to the art of pottery making.

Biography

Neelamani Devi was born to Kharaibam Devasingh Singh and Kharaibam Ongbi Sanajaobi on 1 September 1938 at Thongjao Keithel Leikai,

Thoubal District Thoubal district ( Meitei pronunciation:/ˈθɑʊbɑːl orˈθɑʊbəl/) is one of the sixteen districts of Manipur state in northeastern India. This district is bounded by Senapati district on the north, Ukhrul and Chandel districts on the ...

in the northeast Indian state of

and received the early lessons in pottery making from her mother. She lost her parents during childhood, but with sponsorship from the ''Khadi and Gram Udyog Mandal'', continued her studies at Somthal Pargana, Bihar and completed her training in 1960. Her career started as a demonstrator at the Directorate of Industries of the Government of Manipur, but left the job and returned to her village to start ''Pottery Training Cum Production Centre'' in 1966. There, she trained the local women in pottery making which is known to have helped them to earn their livelihoods. Devi has traveled in India and abroad with her works; she has been a member of the Indian delegation who participated in the ''Five Indian Artisans'' exhibition and demonstration at the

Museum of Ethnography, Sweden The Museum of Ethnography ( sv, Etnografiska museet), in Stockholm, Sweden, is a Swedish science museum. It houses a collection of about 220,000 items relating to the ethnography, or cultural anthropology, of peoples from around the world, inclu ...

, as a part of the Festival of India. She also participated in exhibitions and demonstrations at several places in Japan such as the Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Art,

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

, (''The Art of the Adivasi''), Tobacco and Salt Museum, Tokyo, Tougen Museum, Shirane and Yamanasi,

Saitama Prefectural Museum of History and Folklore is a prefectural museum in Saitama, Japan, dedicated to the history and folklore of Saitama Prefecture. The museum opened in 1971. See also * Chichibu Province * Musashi Province was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Metropol ...

, and Mithila Museum, Tokamachi and Nigata (''Indian Adivasi Art Exhibitions''). In 1986, renowned filmmaker,

, made a documentary film on Devi, titled ''Mittee aur Manab'' and

followed suit in 2003, with his non-feature film, ''Nilamani: Master Potter of Manipur'', made for

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...

, Guwahati. One of the episodes of the Indian TV series,

and the first three episodes of ''Mahabharata'' TV series made by French Television featured her pottery creations. The details of her work have also been documented in print in a book, ''Other Masters : Five Contemporary Folk and Tribal Artists of India'', published in 1998 by the Handicrafts and Handlooms Exports Corporation of India. The book is a prescribed text for academic studies at

University of Goa Goa University is a public state research university headquartered in the city of Panaji, in the Indian state of Goa. In addition to Panaji ( Taleigão Plateau Campus), it has a campus in Margao, Mapusa, Ponda, Old Goa and Vasco da Gama. ...

. Devi received two awards in 1986, the ''National Award for Master Craftsman'' with a Certificate of Honour from the Government of India and ''Tulsi Samman Award'' from the Government of Madhya Pradesh. During 2005–2006, she received two more awards, ''Samaj Kalyan Seva award'' during her trip to Sweden and the ''Karmayogi Award'' from the

Lions Club International The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, by Melvin Jones. It is now headquartere ...

. The Government of India honoured again, in 2007, by including her in the Republic Day honours list for the civilian award of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Neelamani Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts 1938 births People from Thoubal district Indian potters Women artists from Manipur Crafts educators Living people Artists from Manipur Women educators from Manipur 20th-century Indian educators 20th-century Indian women artists Educators from Manipur Women potters Indian ceramists Indian women ceramists Padma Shri Award 20th-century Indian women educators