Rairangpur/Bhubaneswar
“Tume Sabu Bhala Achha?” (Are you all hale and hearty?). When the soft-spoken President Droupadi Murmu mumbled out these humble words at Badampahar helipad in Mayurbhanj, Odisha, the crowd at the roadsides waiting for hours to catch a glimpse of the first citizen of the country waved and gawked at her with gloss in their faces and smiles in their lips. Their joy knew no bounds, when Murmu, hemmed in by bigwigs and security personnel, strolled along the road with a broad ear-to-ear grin and folded hands to strike a chord with the locals.
Every mood was buoyant with excitement. Every move was bouncy with exhilaration. For Murmu, the daughter of the soil, chose to come close to the milling mass on foot, muttering out her words of affability and affinity.
The President, who was supposed to be couched into her plush four-wheeler in the carcade that would lead her to in-laws’ village Pahadpur, preferred to cover about 200 meters along the road on foot to display her reciprocal love for the people. This gait and gesture of love and liveliness that she had exuded during her recent visit to Jagannath Dham Puri, seemed to be a replay for the people who had been waiting for hours in the scorching sun to catch a glimpse of their dear and near Droupadi.
Little children too swarmed the roadsides to peep and peer at Murmu and the young turned, twisted and tilted to capture the moments in their cell phones. While school girls addressed her Droupadi Didi, young men called her Gadam Budhi (Dadi Maa—grandmother) in Santhali.
“This was her first visit to her homeland after long eleven months of her ascension to the highest constitutional seat as the 15th President of the country. So, it is obvious that everybody was happy everywhere at her homecoming,” gushed Murmu’s childhood chum Chinmayee.
When Murmu stepped into Pahadpur, tribals, males and females, burst into their traditional dance and music to welcome her. Reciprocating every gesture of greeting with a smile, Murmu, took off her slippers and went to festoon the statue of husband late Shyam Charan Murmu with a wreath of Rajanigandha.
From there, she proceeded to the Santhali site of worship Goshani that had already registered a fascinating facelift before her advent. There an array of tribal women, clad in traditional ‘jhal saree’, washed her feet in Santhali style to welcome her. She exchanged gifts with them and performed puja at Goshani, with the help of Dehuri (local priest).
“The President is religious to the core and her puja at Goshani reflects this facet of her innate personality,” said Padma Shri Dr. Damayanti Beshra, a noted Santhali litterateur.
Away from media glare, Murmu also whiled away some intimate moments with her near and dear ones including her Sambandh (her daughter Itishree’s father-in-law Dharma Hembram) and her brother Tarinisen Murmu.
Dharma said to have discerned new aura in Droupadi while Tarinisen from his nearby native place Uparbdeda wished to serve Odia dishes—mushroom, saga bhaja and dalma to his dear sister on the premises of SLS Memorial School where she laid the foundation stones for a Community Centre and Skill Training Hub.
Subsequently, she launched the Nisha Nibarana Abhiyana (Addiction Free Odisha) at Hatbadra Centre of Bramakumaris, who were said to have propped up confidence in Murmu after the demise of her husband and two sons.
Murmu then dashed to Rairangpur, the place of rebirth, according to her (her birthplace is Uparbeda, but she had spent her prime time in Rairangpur in the past). When she arrived in Rairangpur, tribal dance and music once again welcomed her while little children waved tri-colours at her. Murmu, escorted by her security entourage, had chats with the tender ones, chucking them under the chin and caressing their chubby cheeks.
“The personality she was radiating had a feel of love and affection,” said Rajesh Hansdah from Badabandha in Rairangpur, where she unfurled the tri-colour tied to a 100 meters high post.
She visited Rairangpur civic body where she once had been the chairperson, spent some time with people and officials there. She the rushed to the Rairangpur Stadium where she was accorded a warm civic reception by the Rairangpur Municipality.
