NADI, Himachal Pradesh — After 45 years, a man missing since his teenage years has returned home, his long-lost memories revived by a recent head injury. Rikhi Ram, now known as Ravi Chaudhary, walked into Nadi village on November 15 accompanied by his wife and three children, leaving relatives and villagers in tears of joy.
Rikhi, 16 at the time, had left Nadi in 1980 seeking work and eventually found employment at a hotel in Yamunanagar, Haryana. During a trip to Ambala, a road accident left him with severe head trauma, erasing all recollections of his past, including his own name. His companions in Haryana gave him the name Ravi Chaudhary, and he built a new life, unaware of his roots.
“I never imagined seeing him again,” said Durga Ram, Rikhi’s younger brother. “We believed he had left this world long ago. Seeing him stand before us after 45 years feels like witnessing a second birth. This is nothing short of a miracle.”
Rikhi eventually moved to Mumbai and later Nanded, Maharashtra, working various jobs before being employed by a college. He married Santoshi in 1994, and they had two daughters and a son. Life appeared stable, until a minor accident in 2025 triggered memories long buried. Dreams of a mango tree, a village swing, and the narrow path to Sataun gradually revealed details of his childhood.
With help from a local college student, Rikhi traced his way back to Nadi using Google and phone contacts, ultimately reconnecting with family through MK Chaubey, a relative who verified the fragmented memories.
Villagers welcomed him with drums, garlands, and jubilant cheers. Emotional family members clung to him, overwhelmed by his miraculous return. Interestingly, Rikhi had lived his adult life embracing a Rajput identity, unaware of his Brahmin heritage until his memory returned. He has now reclaimed his original identity and returned to the customs and lifestyle of his native village.
