PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA, May 9, 2009: – A Hindu prayer started off the inauguration of South African President Jacob Zuma at the Union Buildings on Saturday.
As Indian Vice-President Hamid Ansari joined heads of state of 28 other countries, South African Hindu Maha Sabha president Ashwin Trikamjee recited a few lines in Sanskrit before translating them into English and making a plea for divine guidance to assist Zuma in resolving a range of challenges facing the country under his leadership.