President Murmu Becomes Emotional While Visiting her Alma Mater in Bhubaneswar

GG News Bureau

Bhubaneswar, 11th Nov. President Droupadi Murmu became emotional on Friday as she sat on the cot she used to sleep on as a student at Unit-II Government Girl’s High School in the 1970s.

President Murmu paid a visit to her alma mater and the Kuntala Kumari Sabat Adivasi Hostel, where she used to stay during her school days, on the second day of her Odisha tour.

She also met 13 of her classmates and expressed her joy at being in the company of her classmates, students from her school, and teachers.

The President began the day by paying a visit to Khandagiri’s Tapabana High School. Murmu recalled her school days, saying, “I started my schooling at my Uparbeda village.” There was no school, only a thatched house where we studied.“ The President described today’s children as “fortunate,” saying, “We used to sweep classrooms, clean the school premises with cow dung.” Students in our era studied with an open mind. I urge you to work hard and focus on your studies.”

During an interaction with girl students, President Murmu said, “In our time there were no such facilities like internet, television and other provisions to know the world outside us. As such I do not have any role models from outside. My grandmother was my role model. I have seen how she used to help people, particularly women in our area. My grandmother was mentally very strong and I learnt a lot from her life.”

President Murmu was greeted by students from her alma mater, where she had studied from class 8 to class 11. She entered the school grounds by waving to the people who had been waiting outside the campus since the morning to catch a glimpse of her.

The President also visited the Kuntala Kumari Sabat Hostel, where she stayed during her studies at the state-run school.

“When we showed the President her room and the cot on which she used to sleep during her student days, she became emotional and sat on the same bed for a while,” said a female teacher.

The president planted a sapling on the grounds of the Kuntala Kumari Sabat Hostel, where she stayed for four years from 1970 to 1974.

President Murmu later met her classmates, who had been invited to the school.

“It was a different moment in our lives that the President of India invited us to see. We cannot express the feeling and we are so happy after meeting the country’s first citizen, who was our classmate during school days,” said Chinmayee Mohanty, a retired college teacher and Murmu’s classmate.

President Murmu inquired about her other hostel roommates, specifically Chuni. “Where is Chuni? Incidentally, President Murmu’s friend Chuni was absent on the occasion.

“We are really proud to have such a great friend. However, we could not talk much even as the President came close to us. She clicked photographs with us,” Mohanty said. Taking to twitter, the President of India said: “It was a nostalgic moment today when I visited my alma mater Government Girls High School and Kuntalakumari Sabat Adivasi Girls Hostel in Bhubaneswar. The visit brought back many fond memories of my student life”.

President Murmu also expressed amusement after finding a sand art of her created on her school premises.