Lord Ram has gone to London. Not alone. Just like when he went into forests, he went to London along with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana. No visas and no passports. The Lord went missing in Tamil Nadu and surfaced in London. This happened in 1978. That means when he was young. Are you confused about Lord Ram going missing along with wife and brother? Who made him go missing? International smugglers. Are you clueless? Let’s go into details.
There is a Rajagopala Swamy temple at Ananda Mangalam in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu. This temple is popular not only in Nagapattinam district but also in the entire state. People believe that the presiding deity Lord Ram here is so powerful that he fulfills the wishes you made and the wishes you have not made too.
Some miscreants lifted the idols of Ram, his consort Sita and brother Lakshmana from the temple in 1978. These bronze idols dating back to 15th century are estimated to be worth crores of rupees even in the 70s. Devotees visiting the temple since then have been praying for the whereabouts of the Lord’s idols. For their part, temple management and archaeology department officials too have been searching for them. Finally, Rama, Sita and Lakshman were found in an artifact shop in London.
Curtains to decades of search
TN officials who found them in a shop specialized in trade of artifacts, pleaded with it to give the idols back. But they refused. The efforts to bring back Ram home have gone on for 10 years. The TN authorities were able to prove to London officials that the idols belonged to the temple in their state.
Whatever may be the reasons, British authorities got finally convinced of the genuineness of TN officials’ claim and handed over the idols to the Indian High Commission in London on September 16. Naturally, this elated the Rajagopala Swamy temple staff apart from the people of Nagapattinam. After decades of ‘incarceration’, the three idols are going to return home in a week.
Temple authorities are making arrangements to reinstall idols after completing cleansing rituals (Samprokshana). The joy of temple priests and devotees there knows no bounds as they get ready to welcome their beloved son who went missing a long ago and now returning.