Being in Ayodhya to experience the historic Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony was an extremely emotional moment for Mithali Raj. The former India women’s cricket team skipper admits the experience left her speechless, adding that it was a big occasion of her life.
“Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha was a big occasion and a celebration. It has been 500 years that we kept listening about it, and kept talking about it. And it finally happened in front of our eyes. It was a very spiritual feeling. I felt honoured and privileged that I had an opportunity to be part of the celebration,” Raj tells us.
Watching the Ram Lalla idol getting revealed, which was followed by a shower of rose petals — is one sight she will never be able to forget. She confesses that it made her really emotional.
“We have all grown up listening to Ramayana, reading about it, and watching it on television. We all connect with it. So, there is a strong spiritual connection in each of us towards Ramayana, Lord Rama and Sita ma. So, it was an emotional moment,” she says, adding, “And the entire ambience and jubilant mood was adding to the whole vibe. The temple was decorated so beautifully. The temple looks like a palace. The work on the temple is in so much detail, we could see the hard work that has gone into it by everyone involved in building the temple. Being there to witness was the biggest occasion that anybody could be part of”.
Opening up further about the mood, she shares, “There is one feeling that we get when we pray individually, and the magnitude of that feeling gets heightened when there are thousands of people praying together. People coming together to celebrate the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya was special”.
“It is really something that cannot be put into words. The emotions that we get hearing the chants of ‘Jai Shree Ram’ was something else. It makes us understand the importance and relevance of the day,” says the sports personality.
Is that the emotion she comes back with? “I just feel grateful that I was a part of this occasion. I take back a lot of gratitude and the blessing back home,” she ends.