Droupadi Murmu likely to wear traditional Santhali attire for oath-taking ceremony

Apart from Murmu’s brother and sister-in-law, her daughter Itishree and son-in-law Ganesh will also attend the oath-taking ceremony. Some childhood friends of Murmu are also likely to attend Monday’s ceremony

Updated on: Jul 24, 2022, 20:13:31 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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President-elect Droupadi Murmu is likely wear a traditional Santhali jhal saree that her sister-in-law will bring for her during the oath-taking ceremony as 15th President of the country on Monday.

President-elect Droupadi Murmu interacts with folk performers at her temporary residence in New Delhi on Sunday. (HT PHOTO.)

Murmu’s younger brother, Trainmen Tudu who stays with her at her Rairangpur residence, said his wife Sakramani is bringing the Jhal saree, a traditional Santhali saree designed with motifs of birds, fishes, flowers, leaves and animals for the President-elect. “Santhali women wear these handwoven sarees on special occasions and I hope my sister will wear it tomorrow,” Tudu said.

Her family is also fetching some Arisa pitha, a sweet pancake and Guda pitha made from jaggery, both favourites of Murmu for her special day.

Apart from Murmu’s brother and sister-in-law, her daughter Itishree and son-in-law Ganesh will also attend the oath-taking ceremony. Some childhood friends of Murmu are also likely to attend Monday’s ceremony.

Six tribal MLAs of the BJP from Mayurbhanj district, three members of the Ishwariya Prajapati Brahmakumari’s Rairangpur branch- Brahma Kumari Supriya, Brahma Kumari Basanti and Brahma Kumar Govind will also attend the oath-taking. After she started doing Rajyoga with the help of Brahmakumari institutions, Murmu managed to overcome personal tragedies that happened with her family since 2009.

BJD president and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik who met Murmu ahead of Monday’s oath-taking ceremony, said he had come to greet her and wish her all the best. “I am so pleased and honoured that a daughter of Odisha has been chosen as the President of India. I will be there for her oath-taking ceremony tomorrow,” he said.

Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Dharmendra Pradhan and Bisweswar Tudu, and 7 other Lok Sabha MPs of the party will be present at the ceremony.

In her native village of Uparbeda under Kusumi block, villagers are planning to hold a community feast on Monday to celebrate her victory. “The entire day will be spent dancing and singing and having lunch together. We also have plans to put up a large TV screen so that people can see her taking oath. Tomorrow will be the best possible day for our village,” said Sunaram Hembram, a Santhali villager. Murmu studied in an upper primary school of Uparbeda from Class 1 till Class 7.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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