A cricket tournament has been launched in Bhopal which has Sanskrit commentary and it is for Pandits in order to mark the birth anniversary of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
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A cricket tournament with an ancient twist with one of the most ancient languages. In Bhopal, a cricket tournament has been organised in which the attire is not western. Players don a kurta and dhoti. The commentary is not even in English or Hindi. It is in Sanskrit. It is a cricket tournament where pandits, meaning priests from a temple can play. The prize is Vedic books and a 100-year panchang or Almanac. The occasion is to mark the birth anniversary of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was born in 1918 in Chhatisgarh. He is known for developing and popularizing Transcendental Meditation. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is known as the leader and guru of a worldwide organization that has been characterized in multiple ways including as a new religious movement and as non-religious. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Maharishi achieved fame as the guru to the Beatles, the Beach Boys and other celebrities. He died in February 2008.
Although his birthday is January 12, they are organizing the tournament around this time. Speaking to PTI, Sanskriti Bachaco Manch’s state president Chandrasekhar Tiwari stated that this tournament was being done to promote the ancient Sanskrit language.
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“Players in this tournament are those who perform rituals as per the Vedas. This is the second year of this tournament in which participants, who are Vedic pandits, play while wearing traditional dhoti and kurtas. They speak to each other in Sanskrit. The match commentary is also in Sanskrit. No problem is faced during fielding in the dhoti-kurta attire. I also hit sixes and fours during Monday’s match,” Tiwari stated.
Apart from Bhopal, there is one similar cricket tournament that is being held in Kashi. The tournament lasts for four days. In the past, efforts have been made to promote the Sanskrit language in mainstream society in India currently. There is one section on DD news that gives Sanskrit news for about 15-20 minutes.
The tournament is being played for four days and all coronavirus social distancing norms will be followed. Bhopal has seen a surge in coronavirus cases and strict lockdown measures are being enforced on weekends and in the night on weekdays. But, this is a unique way of honoring Maharishi’s life achievements. In this case, the organizers may have hit the ball out of the park with this initiative. The tournament is slated to end on 20th January.
