BANKURA (WEST BENGAL): A 19 year old college student has reached celebrity status in her village after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rita Mudi had travelled to Midnapore with her mother and sister on July 16, to hear Modi speak. They sat under a tent that subsequently collapsed and were rushed to the hospital. The PM later came to visit and spoke to Rita among others. “That day at the hospital when the PM came to my bedside, I told him how happy I was to see him,” she said. “I requested an autograph. I saw him hesitate a bit but I insisted. He then smiled and wrote 'Rita Mudi tum sukhi raho'. (Stay well, Rita Mudi).”
Rita soon had visitors pouring in to meet her. “We started having a stream of visitors, including people who would not talk to us till the other day. We were recuperating but that didn't stop people from coming to see the autograph. The sudden attention was slightly disconcerting. I think my photograph in social media and newspapers made me famous,” Rita said. Her mother Sandhya informed that she even received marriage proposals. “It isn't only visitors,” she said. “In the last 10 days, we received two marriage proposals for Rita. The first was from Jharkhand's Tatanagar. They said the groom had his own business and they had no demands. They also invited us to visit their home first before we decided.”
“The second proposal was from Chatna, Bankura. The groom owns agricultural land. Both my daughters want to study. So we didn't show much interest.” The family had earlier received one marriage proposal for Rita but the groom had asked for Rs 1,00,000 in dowry. Rita's father Subhas Chandra Mudi, who tills his own land, didn't have the means to provide it. “Marriage will happen when my parents decide but I want to study now,” Rita said.
