A rare idol of Goddess Annapurna will be installed at Kashi Vishwanath Temple on November 15. This idol was stolen from Varanasi about 100 years ago and retrieved from Canada.

The idol which has reached Delhi will be taken to Aligarh, from where it will be taken to Kanauj on November 12 and then a day later, will go to Ayodhya on November 14.

The central government will hand over the idol to the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday at an event in Delhi.  The idol is 17 cm in height, 9 cm in breadth and 4 cm in thickness.

According to OpIndia, it was discovered by Artist Divya Mehra at the University of Regina’s collection at the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Divya Mehra’s research showed that the idol was given to Canadian art patron Norman MacKenzie by a stranger after stealing it from a temple in Varanasi. It was part of the private collections of MacKenzie, which he had donated to Regina University, and the Norman MacKenzie Art Gallery was established by the college to showcase this collection.

The return of the Maa Annapurna idol from Canada to India was announced by Prime Minister Modi in his weekly Mann Ki Baat radio address last year on November 29.

“Mata Annapurna has a very special bond with Kashi [Varanasi]. And the return of the idol is very pleasant for all of us. Like the statue of Mata Annapurna, much of our heritage has been a victim of international gangs,” the PM had said.

According to Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, 42 rare heritage artefacts have been returned to the country since 2014 during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Whereas between 1976 and 2013, only 13 rare statues and paintings could be brought to India.

According to ANI, some 157 sculptures and paintings have been identified abroad and discussions are going on with several countries to bring them back to India. Efforts are on to bring idols from Singapore, Australia, Switzerland and Belgium. Efforts are also being made to bring about 100 idols from America.

Image Courtesy: ANI