President Murmu Walks 1 km To Reach Odisha Temple, Prays For Country

President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday walked about one kilometre on the Grand Road in Odisha's Puri town to reach the 12th century Lord Jagannath Temple and offered prayers for the wellbeing of the nation.

Later, at a civic reception hosted by the state government, President Murmu said she wished that the campaign to make India more prosperous begin from Odisha, her home state.

The President, who began her two-day visit to the state on Thursday, also garlanded statues of various Odia icons and recalled their contribution towards the making of Odisha.

At Puri, the Jagannath temple was closed to the common people from 10.30 am to 1 pm in view of President Murmu's visit but hundreds of devotees who had lined up on both sides of the road greeted her as she walked past them.

President Murmu, who hails from a tribal community in Mayurbhanj district, knelt down before the Lion's Gate (Singhadwara) of the temple. She did the same before the sibling deities Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord Balaram in the sanctum sanctorum in obeisance.

The president, who arrived in Bhubaneswar earlier in the day, surprised the security personnel accompanying her as she stopped her carcade at Balagandi Chhak and walked down to the temple like a common devotee. She kept both her hands raised invoking Lord Jagannath and also waved to the waiting people.

On the way to the temple, President Murmu, who had worked as a teacher in the 1990s, reached out to the students of Utkal Hindi Vidyalaya waiting on the side of the Grand Road and mingled with them and their teachers.

On her arrival at the Lion's Gate, the President was welcomed by Gajapati Maharaja Dibya Singh Deb of Puri, the priests and government officers. Deb presented a Patachitra painting to her on behalf of the temple.

She touched all the 22 steps leading to the temple with her hands as a sign of her devotion to the deities, her family priest Raj Ratan Mahapatra said.

President Murmu, who was accompanied by her daughter Itishree, offered a 'Tulsi' garland to Lord Jagannath, one made of lotus at the Mahalaxmi temple and another of hibiscus flowers at the Maa Bimala temple, Mahapatra said.

While leaving the temple, she garlanded the statue of social reformer Utkalmani Gopa Bandhu Das near the Lion's Gate. It was installed by Mahatma Gandhi in 1934.

Mr Mahapatra said that President Murmu had visited the temple several times earlier when she was a councillor of the Rairangpur notified area council, an MLA, a minister and the governor of Jharkhand.

She later left for the Raj Bhavan at Puri before going back to Bhubaneswar.

In the evening, the President was accorded a civic reception.

"As a daughter of Odisha, I dream of a developed, peaceful and prosperous Odisha.... I wish that the campaign to make India more prosperous starts from Odisha," she said while addressing the gathering.

Historians have described this state as a bridge between North and South India, President Murmu said adding that the glorious history and culture of Odisha have enhanced the country's cultural diversity, unity and comprehensiveness.

"Our country is the home of diverse dance, music and folk arts. The contribution of Odisha to art is immense. Odissi is one of the eight classical dance forms of India and Odia is one of the six classical languages of our country," she said.

She also talked about the various types of folk dances of the state.

Odisha has contributed significantly to the country's freedom movement, the President said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)