President-elect Droupadi Murmu to take oath in traditional Santali saree

President-elect Droupadi Murmu may wear a traditional Santali saree when she takes the oath of office in Delhi on Monday. Her sister-in-law Sukri Tudu is travelling to Delhi with a special saree used by Santal women in Eastern India. Sukri along with her husband Tarinisen Tudu on Saturday left for the national capital to witness the oath-taking ceremony to be held at the Parliament's central hall.

“I am carrying a Santali traditional saree for `Didi' (elder sister) and pray she will wear it during the oath-taking. I am not sure what she will actually wear on the occasion. The Rashtrapati Bhawan will decide the dress of the new president,” Sukri said. The Santali sarees have some stripe work on one end and is worn by the Santal women on special occasions.

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The saree is vertically symmetric and has both ends designed with the same motifs. Sukri, who along with her husband and family members, live in Uparbeda village near Rairangpur in Mayurbhanj district, said she is also carrying traditional sweet pancakes, also called ‘Arisa Pitha’ for Murmu. Meanwhile, Murmu's daughter Itishree, a bank officer and her husband Ganesh Hembram, have reached New Delhi and are staying with the President-elect. “Only four members of the President-elect's family - brother, sister-in-law, daughter and son-in-law - will attend the oath taking ceremony,” said a senior BJP leader adding that essence of ‘adivasi’ culture and tradition could be reflected in the swearing-in of the country’s 15th President.

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BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday left on a four day tour to the national capital during which he is scheduled to attend Murmu’s swearing in ceremony. Apart from six BJP MLAs from Mayurbhanj district, three members of the Ishwariya Prajapati Brahmakumari’s Rairangpur branch- Brahma Kumari Supriya, Brahma Kumari Basanti and Brahma Kumar Govind, have also reached New Delhi and met Murmu during the day, sources said.

Meanwhile, Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw, Dharmendra Pradhan and Bisweswar Tudu, party MPs Suresh Pujari, Basant Panda,Sangeeta kumara Singhdeo and her husband KV Singhdeo, met Murmu in New Delhi. They are expected to be present at the ceremony. Coming from a humble tribal family of Uparbeda village near Rairangpur, 64-year-old Murmu has come a long way from a councilor to an MLA, a minister and Jharkhand Governor to being elected President of India. There were celebrations everywhere in the state as `ladoos' (sweetmeats) were distributed even on Saturday at the Bhubaneswar railway station.