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...

     S ome novel underlies a handful of every variety of masala …a love story, a kind of science fiction, definitive historical fantasy, and some portion thriller…and my 2nd novel read after  Midnight Library  by English writer Matt Haig entails all.      Tom Hazard, the protagonist of “How to Stop Time,” is very, very old . He was born in the 16th-century but still looks like a 41-year-old man. He is employed as a history teacher in London. A reluctant member of the Albatross Society, a secret group dedicated to protecting the existence of these “immortals” a secret, Hazard is at odds with the Albatross Society’s founder, who is the oldest man on Earth, and devout supporter in immortals not establishing emotional attachments. Still mourning his wife’s death centuries earlier and hunting for his daughter with hope that she is ageless like him, 401-year-old Hazard encounters himself flooded by memories of his past and an unexpected attraction to ...

  My commitment as a growing mother and as a learning parent is to facilitate my sons to grow into beautiful spirits who know to share, care, love, and most importantly respect all beings around them. I think that whether it is a patriarchal assignment of a female or a hierarchically enrolled task of a male, both should be learned by every kid. The whole notion that boys are supposed to be strong and girls are meant to be pretty is debatable in my belief . The adjectives shouldn't be followed by any specific gender . I often see questionable eyes when I tell them that my son adores playing with the kitchen set. My question to those eyes is why should a color rift or task division be embodying a particular gender? A girl can have blue as her special color and a boy can enjoy pink. A boy can love his teddy and a girl can idolize racing a bike. I'm sure you will concede that gender neutrality and gender equality are something we have to bestow to our kids . They say genuine lea...

My childhood has seen those times when, I guess, the craze for English speaking was at its epitome in India. The 08-year-old-me secured admission to the top convent school of the city wherein Hindi speaking was deterred and punishable inside the school premises. I vividly remember the smirks and giggles of my classmates during the self-introduction session in front of the class while I was struggling with the English utterances. It was my English teacher who suggested I start reading English books. And this opened the door to another world for me. I found a lifetime, anytime and every time friend in the form of books. With time, I developed an addiction to reading multiple books simultaneously. Take a look at my Goodreads account ( Ekta's Goodreads )  at any time, and you'll likely find that I'm usually reading more than one book at a time. “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” ― C.S. Lewis Reading is something I can soothe and...