Please take a moment today to remember the heroes of Kargil. As many of you would know, today is “Kargil Vijay Diwas” – a day to remember the valour and the supreme sacrifice of the men in uniform in Kargil. The conflict in Kargil involved the largest peace-time mobilisation of Indian troops of which 20,000 were believed to have been involved in actual operations in the harsh and inhospitable terrain. The conflict also saw four of our men receive India’s highest military honour – the “Param Vir Chakra” for …

Many amongst you would remember the story of DharmaRaj and the “Yaksha Prashna” (Questions of the “Yaksha*”). I stumbled on these questions a few weeks ago on a Dr Srinivasan’s website . Dr Srinivasan has used the “Yaksha Prashna” as an anchor to write a primer aimed at inculcating moral and ethical values amongst the young and the children. I had almost forgotten this story until I re-read it a few weeks ago. It is a story worth telling. Some excerpts from “Yaksha Prashna” by Dr A Srinivasan
This episode is …

Courtesy PsyBlog, here is how cognition can be accelerated by just 4 x 20 minutes Meditation:
…In a new study reported in the journal Consciousness and Cognition…researchers found significant benefits for novice meditators from only 80 minutes of meditation over 4 days (Zeidan et al., 2010).
Despite their very brief period of practice — and compared with a control group who listened to an audiobook of Tolkein’s The Hobbit— meditators improved on measures of working memory, executive functioning and visuo-spatial processing.

An ascetic, in the Yogasana pose. dated from 8th century.
Image Source: Museum …

There is a new kid on the block. (S)he is called “Hindutva Terror” (aka “Hindu Terror”).  Chances are you have heard the word before; Chances are you have got annoyed, perhaps just a little bit angry and moved on. Chances are you have never paused to think who – and what – is this “Hindutva Terror”? Until a few days ago, I was in the group of people who – when they heard the word – would get a little annoyed, perhaps a little angry and then move on.
हिंदी अनुवाद …

The first link leads here and the second news-story is here.
Source: Google News screenshot at ~630pm IST

In this brief and final part of Notes from North-East, I would like to share some wonderful memories and unforgettable moments…

The best part of my day: Waking up every morning and seeing the clouds kissing the hills from my window
The seond best part:  Late late into the night listening to the rustle of leaves in the wind and watching the dance of night insects
Most memorable moment: View of the sunset at Shukreshwar Ghat, Guwahati (no picture; that would have been a sacrilege)
The best moment of the visit: Starting the Rotary …