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South Africa cricketer Keshav Maharaj, a Hindu by birth, extended his wishes to the Indian community in South Africa for the Ram Mandir ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The left-arm spinner, who is currently leading the Durban Super Giants SA T20, wished for peace and harmony through spiritual enlightenment in a video posted on his social media handle.
“Namaste everyone. I just want to wish my Indian community in South Africa for the inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya tomorrow. May there be peace, harmony and spiritual enlightenment to all. Jai Shri Ram.” the South African said.
Earlier, Maharaj was in the news for the ‘Ram Siya Ram’ song played during the Test matches and ODIs during India’s tour of South Africa whenever he walked into bat. The song also attracted interested reactions from KL Rahul (during the ODIs) and Virat Kohli (during the Tests). The 33-year-old said it was his way of showing gratitude to God.
“Obviously, something that I put forward to the media lady and requested that song to be played,” he told PTI. “For me, God has been my greatest blessing, giving me guidance and opportunity. So, it’s the least that I can do and it also just gets you in your zone. It’s a nice feeling walking out (into the ground) to hear ‘Ram Siya Ram’ playing in the background,” he added.
Cricketing icons Sachin Tendulkar, chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, sprint queen PT Usha and footballer Bhaichung Bhutia are among the prominent sports personalities invited for the consecration of the Ram Temple.
The 500+ state guest list features a mix of politicians, actors, sports stars and industrialists who have been invited to the event on Monday.
Besides Tendulkar, World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev, ‘little master’ Sunil Gavaskar as well as Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Virendra Sehwag and Indian cricket coach Rahul Dravid are on the list too.
From the current Indian cricket team, Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma have been invited. Weightlifter Karnam Malleswari, footballer Kalyan Chaube, long-distance runner Kavita Raut Tungar and paralympic javelin thrower Devendra Jhanjadia have received an invitation as have women cricket captain Mitali Raj, shuttlers Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu and her trainer Pullela Gopichand.
It is not clear how many of them will actually attend the opening of the 161-foot-tall pink sandstone shrine.
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