Ekta | wisdomekta

  “I may be injured; I may even be wounded to the heart, but I’m not defeated yet.” - This is the spirit of the heroine of my latest read “The last queen”. An un-put-down-able novel by Divakaruni breathes life into the forgotten queen, Jindan Kaur, the youngest wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the glorious ruler who built the powerful Sikh empire at the onset of the nineteenth century. This is my second read for the writer after  Palace of illusions Such a poignant tale of Rani Jindan whose life is like a fairy tale gone wrong . I did not know her story earlier so I feel grateful to learn about the queen, and an additional thanks to Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, I now am also aware of how our Kohinoor- the diamond landed in hands of the British Queen. The writer has justified this fictional historical biography by dividing the life of Jidan Kaun (also called Jindan Kaun) into four parts-- 'Girl', 'Bride', 'Queen' and 'Rebel '-- that revive her remarkable li...

Image from Internet One of the subjects of my interest is KARMA. I have been reading about it, analyzing its various facets through several readings and also through my rendition and self-dialogues. After completing this recent read titled Karma: A Yogi's Guide to Crafting Your Destiny by Sadhguru,  I realize that my previous blog relating to the topic-  The Law of Karma   is like a kid’s interpretation of Karma.    The very first chapter offers the definition of Karma which in itself is plenty to think about and self-reflect. “ Karma is the accumulated impression of past activity, either of thought, emotion, or physical action. The quality of the karma that you gather is not necessarily in terms of action alone. It is also in terms of the volition with which action is performed .” In this book, Sadhguru elucidates the common fallacies about the whole idea of Karma being a punishment or a reward for the deeds done. As per him “ Every moment of your life, you a...

Coincidently I opened to read this book on 2 February 2022 exactly 12 years after it got printed. Being a science student myself, the “ HeLa ” term is not new to me… however, the saga behind HeLa brought utter impact and revelation. In 1952, HeLa cells came to be the first human cell line that could thrive and divide endlessly in a laboratory , leading scientists to label these cells “ immortal ”. They are the world's most ubiquitous sources for medical research on everything… from hormones, steroids, and vitamins to gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, studying atomic bombs' effects, outer space …even the polio vaccine. It gives me goosebumps to realize that we all have benefitted from 'her' cells and shall continue to be part of our future generations as well! These Immortal ' HeLa ' cells belonged to 'her'. She was a 31 years old African American woman named Henrietta Lacks. In 1951, Henrietta Lacks, born into a family of tobacco farmers in Virginia...

  Some people don’t wait for history. They make history and redefine the word “valor”. Situated off the NH 37 near Jorhat is the statue of Bir Lachit Borphookan amid a garden adjacent to his Moidam (burial ground). I have visited the place once and was captivated by a little introduction about this local hero. Little did I know that this “local” hero is the history architect! I feel humbly appreciative to the writer of this read Nilutpal Gohain who aptly acquainted me with the rich history that germinates from the ancient land of Assam and to the hero Lachit Borphukan. The plot is of 1667 AD, Assam. After a plunderous invasion of the Mughal Subedar Mir Jumla, the Ahom kingdom is reeling under loss, deceit, and inside disputes. The Ahom Monarch Chakradhwaj Singha and his ministers are serving the vassalage of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb under the terms of a despicable treaty and the morale of the Assamese people is curtailed to its lowest ebb. However, a valiant commander of the Ah...