New Delhi: President-elect Droupadi Murmu will take the oath of office in Delhi on Monday and during the oath-taking ceremony she is likely to wear a traditional Santali saree. Her sister-in-law Sukri Tudu is travelling to Delhi to gift 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, according to a PTI report.
The Santali sarees are designed with stripes on one end and are worn by the Santal women on special occasions. 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 swearing-in 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 .
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.
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.
(with PTI inputs)