Nobel laureate James Watson saw in a dream a double helix of DNA, Russian chemist Dmitry Mendeleev saw the periodic table of elements, and Abraham Lincoln saw his own murder. But much more often dreams do not come true.
Living in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Shobhan Sarkar, who is revered by Hindus as a swami (sage), in September last year, the long-deceased Raja Rao Ram Baksh Singh appeared in a dream and said that he had buried a thousand tons of gold near a temple in his fortress in the Unao region …
Sarkar wrote about his revelation to the President and Prime Minister of India, but received no response. However, the Minister of Agriculture and Food, upon learning about this, became interested and instructed to investigate. The geological prospecting service scanned the soil in the dilapidated fortress and reported the presence of a certain magnetic anomaly.
Excavation began on October 20. Just in case, the place was cordoned off by armed guards. In anticipation of a sensation, teams of cameramen and thousands of curious people were on duty in the fortress. The press and the public judged and judged how to spend the gold, and whether it should go to federal or local authorities. Descendants of the rajah declared their claims to the treasure.
Nothing but rusty iron and broken glass was found. The search was terminated four weeks later.
Officials vied with each other to deny responsibility for wasted money. Exploration officials said they never argued that the magnetic anomaly could have anything to do with gold, and did not recommend excavating.
Today magazine called the incident "a monument to human stupidity." Opposition politician Narendra Modi advised the government to look for money not underground, but in the Swiss accounts of corrupt officials.
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Some commentators say that India has disgraced the whole world, and advise fellow citizens to rely on work, and not dream of treasures. Others believe that the story will still do some good: the hype about gold, and especially what to use it for, could draw additional attention to the social problems of the state, where half of the rural residents belonging to the lower castes are malnourished and do not know diplomas.
Shobhan Sarkar alone continues to believe in his dream. He bought a small excavator and intends to search for the treasure on his own. The authorities forbade him to conduct unauthorized excavations on the territory of the historical monument, however, the religious authority declares that he is ready to go to prison, but will not give up on his plans.