It was a dream come true for five dozen people of Odisha's tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district as they got the opportunity to have lunch with newly elected President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
All 60 people from President Murmu's home district, invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the country's first tribal President, were in for a pleasant surprise when the authorities urged them to join a lunch hosted by their 'daughter of the soil'.
"We were very happy to attend the President's oath-taking ceremony at the Central Hall of the Parliament, but never imagined we would be invited to have lunch at Rashtrapati Bhavan," said Sujata Murmu, a former Zilla Parishad chairperson of Mayurbhanj district.