Sir David Beckham received a traditional Hindu welcome as he continued his charity trip to India on Friday.
The kingdom’s new British knight is in Mumbai representing UNICEF as a Goodwill Ambassador. He also visited Education Above All, a Qatar-based foundation dedicated to providing quality education and employment opportunities to children from disadvantaged communities around the world.
The 50-year-old star revealed that he was greeted with a traditional welcome dance upon arriving at a school in Visakhapatnam. After a four-hour visit to a local school, Beckham, 50, was greeted with a bouquet of flowers and received the accompanying aarti ritual.
For the unversed, the Aarti ritual is a Hindu worship practice that generally involves chanting, lighting licenses, and waving lighted lamps before a deity.
At one point, the former Manchester United and England footballer’s forehead was adorned with a Hindu tika.
Taking to Instagram, the retired footballer shared a video of his welcome ceremony with the caption: “Very touched by everyone’s kindness. Thank you for my traditional welcome and Dal Ki Chaat lessons. Creating beautiful memories in Mumbai.”
Meanwhile, Beckham also met with young children from UNICEF as part of efforts to help make Mumbai a better place to live.
He further shared that he had celebrated Tudorwatch in Mumbai and wrote, “Had a great evening celebrating @tudorwatch in Mumbai last night… amazing surroundings and amazing people.”
