When K R Ramakrishnan floated the idea of a Cricket Ganesha Temple, his wife Saraswathi thought he had gone crazy. ‘‘I was annoyed with him for behaving so childishly.’’ Then India defeated England in the final match of the Natwest Series. ‘‘I am proud of my husband,’’ she now says. So, will India win the Cricket World Cup 2003? ‘‘Yes,’’ says Ramakrishnan, ‘‘but only if they believe in Cricket Ganesha.’’ In case they’re looking, they’ll find Cricket Ganesha in Anna Nagar, at the Cricket Ganesha Temple. It all began some time ago when India was playing Australia. India did so badly they were forced to follow-on. Ramakrishnan, a self-employed professional — he says he’s a consultant now — prayed fervently to Ganesha. His prayers were answered. After India’s win, Ramakrishnan built a small Cricket Ganesha Temple in his apartment block and installed a black granite Ganesha statue with its trunk pointed towards the right. The Cricket Ganesha Temple was consecrated on March 11, 2001. Then came the second Test between Australia and India. Right-hand batsmen V V S Laxman (281 runs) and Rahul Dravid (180 runs) were doing well but left-hand bat Saurav Ganguly was going through a bad patch. One of Ramakrishnan’s friends suggested he install a Ganesha with his trunk pointed towards the left to improve Ganguly’s score. ‘‘I installed it just in time for the one-day series between India and Australia. Ganguly smashed a 74 from 83 balls after that,’’ he says. ‘‘People approach God and wish for a lot of things. So, what’s wrong with cricket wishes,’’ he says. On September 10, 2002, Ramakrishnan installed another statue of Ganesha, this time with two trunks — one to the right and the other to the left — to benefit both the right and left-hand players. In one hand, Ganesha holds a cricket bat and in the other, a cricket ball. That’s a World Cup special. So watch this space.
