'Droupadi not my original name, it was...', says India's new president

Droupadi Murmu took oath as the 15th President of India on Monday. The first tribal leader to become the head of state, Murmu revealed that her first name 'Droupadi' - based on a character from the epic 'Mahabharata' - is not her original name.

In an interview with an Odia video magazine some time ago, Murmu revealed that her Santhali name "Puti" was changed to Droupadi by a teacher in school.

"Droupadi was not my original name. It was given by my teacher who hailed from another district, not from my native Mayurbhanj," the new President told the magazine.

Teachers in the tribal-dominated Mayurbanjh district used to travel from either Balasore or Cuttack in the 1960s, she claimed.

"The teacher did not like my previous name and changed it for good," she said when the magazine asked why she is called Droupadi, a name similar to the 'Mahabharata' character.

She had also mentioned that her name was changed several times - from "Durpadi" to "Dorpdi". She stated that names do not die in Santhali culture.

Droupadi, who had the surname of Tudu in schools and colleges, started using the title Murmu after she married Shyam Charan Tudu, a bank officer.

Murmu on Monday took oath as the 15th President of India.

Chief Justice of India N V Ramana administered her oath at a ceremony held at Parliament's Central Hall. Much before getting elected to the country's highest Constitutional post, Murmu had made her views clear on the reservation for women in politics.

For the unversed, the 15th President of India lost her younger son Sipun in a road accident in 2013 and subsequently, her brother and mother passed away.

"I have encountered tsunami in my life and seen three deaths of my family members in a span of six months," Murmu said, adding that her husband Shyam Charan also fell ill and died in 2014.

(With PTI inputs)