This small village in Patiala claims link to Lord Rama

 Aman Sood

Patiala, January 18

Ahead of the January 22 Pran Pratishta ceremony of Ram Lalla idol at the Ayodhya temple, celebrations have been started at historic Gharram village, 18 km from Patiala. Residents of the small village believe that it has a close association with Lord Rama.

The villagers say that they have not received any invite officially, but expect recognition to the village during the ceremonies in Ayodhya. They trust some old books and literature which link the village to Lord Rama.

A publication of Punjabi University, Patiala, titled “Patiala and its Historical Surroundings”, published in 1969, says that ‘Patiala can lay some claim to Lord Rama’. Villagers say that many books have mentioned that Raja Dashrath’s baraat came to Gharram. He married the Maharaja’s daughter, Mata Kaushalya. And Rama was born in his nana’s palace.

“Some historical remains are still here. We just want some credit as the village is historic and there is a lot linked to the ancient Hindu mythology. We are happy that finally the Pran Pratishta ceremony of Ram Lalla idol at the Ayodhya temple is happening and it will be good if the history of our village is displayed,” says 56-year old Gurmeet Singh, an ex-panchayat member.

“Not only me, but generations have grown up in the village listening to the stories of our village’s links with Lord Rama”, he said.

The villagers believe Lord Rama was born not in Ayodhya, but in their village in the palace of his maternal grandfather, the local Maharaja Khoh Ram. However, historians have not been able to establish that link, even as they believe that the village is of great historical importance and closely linked to ancient history.

Dr Param Bakhshish Singh, former Head of the Department of Punjab Historical Studies, Punjabi University, said, “The villagers have long been associating themselves with Lord Rama and a lot of research in this village has been done and more needs to be done to establish their claim”, he stated. A visit to the village shows that an ancient fort, now in ruins, is also there even as many excavations have been done in the past to establish this claim.

Another expert, who was a former head of Department of History, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Manmohan Kumar says that an excavation at Gharram was done in 1975-77. “I was part of that excavation. Though no direct links of the village’s with the Ramayana could be established, centuries-old material was found,” he states.

“There is some land which, as per records, is still in the name of Luv-Kush — sons of Lord Rama,” he says.