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SANGRAMGARH (KUNDA), UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA, April 30, 2005: It is a dream come true for Jagannath Patel. And practically so for all the 2,500-plus villagers in this nondescript hamlet of Kashipur situated in Kunda tehsil of Pratapgarh. For it was Jagannath’s unusual dream in January led them to dig out icons of a Goddess coupled with the remains of a temple structure, dating back to the Rajput era. The signs of prosperity that this new find has brought for Kashipur residents can easily be seen in the form of make-shift stalls of eatables and prasad (blessed food), where the villagers are now earning more that they got as farm laborers by catering to the needs of the thousands who visit the site every day. In the center of all the festivity that is evident in Kashimpur, stands Jagannath Patel — a 45-year-old illiterate unmarried man who, the villagers believe, saw the Deity in his dream on the night of January 24, 2005. “Hum yahan dabe hain humko nikalo yahan se” (I am buried here…take me out), is what a female voice had thundered in his ears when he was fast asleep outside the Mathna Devi Mandir near the pond situated at the village entrance. It was this dream that saw Jagannath dig up the area where the villagers often set up bonfire to kill the chill of a wintry night. And barely a few strokes of spade later, they unearthed a marble icon — two and a half feet tall neatly chiseled “Asht Bhuja” (eight arms) figure of woman laden with bead ornaments.

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