Tuesday, Nov 19, 2013
Patna: Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar who is fondly called the “god of cricket” finally got his place in a temple in Bihar on Tuesday with his life-sized statue installed there.
His fans say the temple will inspire promising cricketers to play the game and be like Sachin who brought much glory to the nation.
Hundreds of cheering fans led by popular Bhojpuri film star Manoj Tiwari joined the hour-long ritual on Tuesday to lay the foundation stone of the temple dedicated to the cricket star. During the foundation-laying ceremony, the ecstatic fans installed the white marble statue of Sachin who bid farewell to his cricketing career spanning over 24 years only last week after playing his 200th Test match even as the temple construction works will remain in progress. The fans said Sachin is nothing less than a “god” and needs to be worshipped.
The temple spread around an area of 6,000 square feet is coming up at Atarwalia village in Kaimur district, more than 200km south-west of Bihar capital Patna.
Around Rs7 million is to be spent on the construction of the grand temple which is likely to be completed within four-five months. Initially, the construction work of the temple was to be started early next year but the village fans were prompted to start work this year itself after Sachin suddenly announced his retirement from cricket.
As per the layout plan, the statue of Sachin will remain in the sanctum sanctorum while the statue of two other players, Indian skipper MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, will adorn the front of the temple. The statue sculpted by Rajasthan sculptor Khemram, Sachin is dressed in the official blue jersey of the Indian cricket team and holds the World Cup trophy in hand.
“It’s a small gesture for the ‘god of Cricket’ but his statue will continue to inspire promising players wishing to make cricket their career,” Tiwari, who was the guiding force behind the temple, told the media. He said prayers will be offered to Sachin every day at the temple, adding the prayer had already been composed.
“It’s a small tribute to the man who brought Indian cricket to such a Himalyan height… the nation is indebted to him,” said Tiwari.
By Lata Rani?Correspondent
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
