Bhubaneswar: President Droupadi Murmu during her visit to her birthplace Uparabeda village in Mayurbhanj district on Friday could not stop herself from dancing with tribal women, even breaching protocol.
During her five-day visit to Odisha, the President visited Uparbeda village, where she was born in a Santali family, on Friday. During her stay in the village, it was evident that she couldn’t hold her feelings back.
She first went to Uparbeda Government Upper Primary School, her alma mater where she spent her childhood days. While the village roads were decorated with ‘jhooti’ (Rangoli), the villagers decorated their houses with new paint to welcome her. At the school, she was received by the teachers and students. After spending some time with the students, she went to the village deity’s shrine and offered prayer.
Then, she proceeded to her ancestral house. In front of her house, Santali women dressed in traditional attire were dancing to the tune of Santali songs and beats. As she was going to her house, she became so emotional that she even breached the protocol, joined the woman, held their hands, and shook legs with them, leaving the villagers surprised. It seemed she didn’t want to make the villagers feel she was the President of India; rather she was one among them.
And it also seemed that she made it a point to enjoy every moment of her stay in her birthplace. Notably, after assuming the country’s topmost constitutional post, this was Murmu’s first visit to her ancestral house. She assumed the office of the President of India on July 25, 2022.