Droupadi Murmu is set to be the new President of India. Though the counting for the Presidential polls will be held today, her election is a foregone conclusion since the National Democratic Alliance has enough support to see her through. Murmu belongs to a tribal community. She is a resident of Odisha's Paharpur village. The people of the village have already prepared for the grand celebrations.
There was a house in the village where Droupadi Murmu had arrived as a daughter-in-law 42 years ago. At the time, the house didn't even have cemented walls. The house saw a very bad period -- between 2010 to 2014. Three people of the Murmu family died within four years.
Murmu's two sons and her husband died one after the other in these four years. Her eldest son died in mysterious circumstances. He had gone to a party with his friends. He told the family that he was very tired and shouldn't be disturbed. In the morning, he didn't answer the knocks on his door. He was found dead when people broke open the door.
Her younger son had died two years before the death of Murmu's elder son. Droupadi Murmu has converted this building into a hostel for students.
Her sister-in-law Shakyamuni told Dainik Bhaskar that Droupadi Murmu had gone into depression for six months after her eldest son's death. She turned to spirituality to come out of the mental abyss she had slipped into, after the tragedy. She said Murmu was heartbroken due to the incident.
Her friend said after the elder son's death, Murmu had told her she wasn't able to figure out how to cope with the tragedy. "I said come to our Bramhakumari center. Then she started coming to the place regularly," she said.
She said Murmu has an affable personality and she is very down-to-earth. She always keeps a small religious book dedicated to Lord Shiva.
Droupadi Murmu wakes up every day at 3.30 am. She takes the morning walk and performs Yoga, every day.
Her associate Sanjay Mahto told the daily that as a Governor, Murmu's doors were always open for others. "She never let the tragedies dominate her life," he added.
