IN HER THREE-DAY MAIDEN VISIT TO GOA PRESIDENT DROUPADI MURMU OBSERVED A HECTIC SCHEDULE…after being welcomed with a civic reception at the Raj Bhavan, she visited the Martyr’s Memorial at Azad Maidan in Panaji, attended the 34th Convocation at Goa University, met tribal groups from Goa, visited the Bom Jesus Basilica at Old Goa, also visited Shantadurga Devasthan at Kavle Ponda and Mahalasa temple at Verna, stopped over at Farmagudi girls college to speak to students, planted a seedling at the Bonsai Garden at Raj Bhavan and in between also manage to catch the Chandrayaan-3 moon landing on Aug 23 on television… She was given a warm send-off by Governor PS Sreedheran Pillai and Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Aug 24 afternoon at INS Hansa Dabolim.
IT would have been a treat like no other to have said hello to the enormously dignified President Droupadi Murmu visiting Goa for the first time. Alas, it was not to be for me! I just wasn’t able to get the high security media pass required to get to the several functions she attended during her three-day visit from Aug 22 to 24, 2023 to acquaint herself with the country’s smallest state with highest per capita income.
So sitting in our small office I kept wondering what the country’s tribal president, Droupadi Murmu, really thought about Goa! From the sound of it she was here on a very tightly packed schedule: Welcomed at the Dabolim Airport by politician Mauvin Godinho, she was late accorded a charming civic reception by the government of Goa and Governor Sreedharan Pillai at the Durbar Hall of Raj Bhavan. Later she laid a wreath at the Martry’s Memorial at Azad Maidan in Panaji, attended the 34th convocation of Goa University; over her three days addressed the Legislative Assembly at Porvarim, visited the historic church in Old Goa, on her way back stopped to say hello to students, many groups wanted to meet her but I’m not sure if all of them did. In a remarkable short time President Murmu picked up a lot of knowledge about Goa.
She comes across as a woman of down-to-earth dignity with none of the imperial attitudes we sometimes see in our presidents, governors and politicians and their families in this country, under the presumption that they’re wearing British Raj or some maharaja/maharani royalty haloes…like they’ve stepped into the footwear of the late British and have nothing better to do except lord it over their empire! What’s democracy, my friends!
In her talk at the Raj Bhavan reception she acknowledged Goa’s achievements as a small state, praised its Common Civil Code inherited form the Portuguese; she said the women of a cosmopolitan state like Goa came across as more educated and empowered and she appreciated that, wished the same for other women in the country. She also saw Goa as a state richly endowed with natural green beauty and urged that it be taken care of in conservation, with various development programs working hand in hand with the needs of tribal population living in the forested areas. To quote, “Goa’s natural beauty is a treasure that we must conserve. It is equally vital to involve trial communities in our journey of modern development…” She also spoke about real freedom in which all were involved without caste or creed prejudices. Governor Sreedharan Pillai was all praise for her as he gifted her his recently released books on the heritage trees of Goa and a poetry collection in Malayalam (he hails from Kerala and writes abundantly in his native mother tongue).
Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant welcomed her warmly with gifts of Kunbi saree, stole and brass lamp. She was also treated to cultural folk performances by tribal troupes and singers. The reception was attended by State dignitaries and VIP invites along with local panchayat leaders, as also Cabinet ministers and Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao. While in Goa she also planted an ornamental plant at the Bonsai Garden (Vaman Vruksh Kala Udyan) at the Raj Bhavan grounds which are quite extensive and well-provided for.
SHE is a very interesting president! Some of us may have forgotten where President Murmu’s hails from. To put it briefly here she was born to a Santali family on June 20, 1958 (in her mid-60s now) in Uparbeda village in the Baidaposi area of Rairangpur, Odisha. She comes from a farming family with her grandfather and father being traditional heads (designated sarpanch of the village council, Gram Panchayat). To her family she was born as Puti Tudu! She was educated to be a teacher and later worked and won her way up to be a local politician and to be the governor of Jharkhand from 2015 to 2021, before being appointed to be President of India since 2022.
Droupadi Murmu studied in the Girl’s High School Unit-2 and graduated in BA from Rama Devi Women’s College. She married banker Shyam Charan Murmu in 1980 and had two sons and a daughter. She has grown up in hard times making ends meet and sad times saw her losing her husband, two sons, mother and a brother in a span of seven years from 2009 to 2015. As a matter of fact her only child now, her daughter Itishree Murmu, accompanied her to Goa.
Droupadi Murmu was elected India’s 15th president and has I am sure many extraordinary stories to tell as the country’s first tribal commander-in-chief from the hills of Odisha…interestingly, the Santali tribals are the largest ethnic people in Jharkhand (Jharkhand was created to do justice to them) with Austro-Asiatic origins, this is reflected in their language. It’s a fascinating story to read up about what happened to them during British Raj exploitative times and how they fell into dire impoverished status before Independence came to India.
What is the president’s salary? Rs60,00,000 annually. She is the second woman president of India, the first before her was Pratibha Patil (12th president), most unmemorable if you’re asking me! It is left to be seen how obedient a president Droupadi Murmu is – will she or won’t she upset the apple cart of any politician, let alone the prime minister of India! Especially, in the light of the political developments in Manipur where communal violence has divided the major two tribes seeking government patronage by being declared as scheduled caste — to gain government favors!
All this and much more. May President Droupadi Murmu visit Goa again and I get to say hello to her. Her visit to Goa was competing with news of India on the moon and saying hello to Chanda-mama of Hindi film and other romantic Hindi film songs fame…the euphoria is fine except that I wish as a country we could say we’re arrived like say China can in the material department (even if it’s been a military dictatorship for years now and the Chinese people make up a large migrating force to the lands of freedom and opportunity, where else but USA and Europe)! We may be on the moon to impress the world with our ancient culture and greatness but in 2023 we’re still a developing country with all indices indicating more troubled times ahead for Indians in India at least…funny or not funny, 75 years and neither the Congress or the BJP in power since 2014 have rid us of underdeveloped and BPL status (never mind how rich our politicians are with their bankrupt minds).
These days I’m hung up on a Bob Marley song I never heard before (such lack of music education!) …heard his song “Some people are so poor all they have is money…”? After listening to Bob Marley songs (gone with the wind now) one may feel pretty suicidal, especially if folk around you are so high on the euphoria of India conquering the moon, with Chandrayaan-3 making a landing on the yet untouched lunar south pole — and India is now fourth on the list after USA, Russia, China have finished paying their respects to the moon!
Sorry, my dears, if I’m not all that excited about India saying hello to Chandamama and the rest of you know what; and this is not because I have no respect for science or technology. I salute the ISRO team who got India to the moon but I just think the cost of this Chandarayaan-3 moon mission which cost the Indian public exchequer Rs615 crore or American $74 to $75 million could have been used to give the working class people of India urban and rural a better quality of life to be happy about – notwithstanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi company’s Chanda-mama dramatics! I hear the aforementioned cost is cheaper than the Greta Gerwig’s film titled “Barbie” which cost its maker $145 million! Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” cost $100 million! So by American standards India has got to the moon very cheaply, presumably.
ON that note it’s avjo, selamat datang, poiteverem, au revoir, arrivedecci, hasta la vista and vachun yeta here for now.
—Mme Butterfly