ASSAM'S SON OF THE SOIL

Lachit Borphukan (1622 - 1672)

Lachit Borphukan was the commander-in-chief of the Royal Ahom Army. The Ahom dynasty ruled present-day Assam from 1228-1826.

Lachit was bestowed the title of Borphukan by the Ahom king, Chakradhwaj Singha (1663 - 1670), in recognition of his bravery, leadership skills and mastery of guerilla warfare. Known as Shivaji Maharaj of North East India, Lachit Borphukan is an icon of the Assamese nationalist movement. He was the mastermind behind the famous naval defeat of the Mughal army of Aurangzeb on the Brahmaputra river in 1671.

The conflicts between the Mughals and the Ahoms began in 1615 as the Mughals wanted to get total control over the areas in Brahmaputra valley. Lachit Borphukan grew up amidst a background of battles and war-like events. This instilled courage and patriotism in him. 

In 1661, Aurangzeb became the Mughal king. He was determined to gain control of the Ahom kingdom. Mir Jumla, the Viceroy of Bengal, was assigned this task. This Mughal invasion began in January 1662. He was able to capture Guwahati, but his army found it difficult to capture more territory due to the difficult terrain full of dense jungles, hills rivers and ground covered with monsoon water. The Ahom army cleverly used guerilla warfare tactics to defend the rest of their territory. Mir Jumla found it difficult to sustain the battle. The Ahoms too lost significant areas to the Mughals. Finally, both sides agreed to end the battle. The Treaty of Ghilajharighat was signed on January 23rd, 1663.

Guwahati was recaptured from the Mughals, in September-October 1667, by the Ahoms under the leadership of Lachit Borphukan. However, the Ahoms were very angry at the humiliating conditions laid down in the Treaty of Ghilajharighat. The Ahom king Chakradhwaj Singha, was determined to drive away the Mughals from their occupied areas of his Ahom kingdom. This whish came true during the Battle of Saraighat.

The Battle of Saraighat 1671 was a remarkable naval battle between the Mughals and Ahom soldiers, led by Lachit Borphukan. Although he was very ill, Lachit Borphukan bravely motivated his men to fight the battle. He succeeded in luring the Mughals into sending their naval fleet onto the Brahmaputra river water at Saraighat (Guwahati).

Lachit Borphukan made the smaller Ahom naval boats from a 'bridge' across the narrow portion of the Brahmaputra Saraighat. By using clever psychological warfare tactics and military intelligence, Lachit Borphukan exploited the weakness of the Mughal navy and defeated Aurangzeb's soldiers. Years later, the Mughals again occupied Guwahati. But in 1671, it was Lachit Borphukan who was the victor.

"Bora Masu, Bati Ghora" is the famous war cry attributed to Lachit Borphukan, the heroic commander of the Ahom army during the Battle of Saraighat. It means "Give me a hundred men, I will defeat a thousand enemies." While fighting the battle, in spite of being in immense pain, he told his soldiers, "You may turn around any time you choose, but despite my pain, I intend to fight to my death."

Today, the Lachit Borphukan gold medal is given to the best cadet in the National Defense Academy. This award was set up in 1999 to inspire the cadets to emulate Borphukan's heroism in the battlefield. Lachit Divas is celebrated on 24th November every year in Assam. 

A 35' high bronze statue of Lachit Borphukan, eight 18' statues of soldiers and two 32' long water cannons made of fibre-glass stand on a pedestial fixed to a pillar embedded 50m deep in the Brahmaputra river water on the river bed. It is 5m above the High Flood Level mark. The statue is a reminder that his valour on the battlefield will never be forgotten. For the ever-brave exemplary leader that Lachit Borphukan was, his kingdom always came first. 

ENTREPRENEURIAL TRAIN JOURNEY

Jagriti Yatra 

There is a train in India that travels only once a year for 15 days, but when it travels, it makes careers of about 500 people and builds the future of India.

This train, run by an NGO named Jagriti Seva Sansthan of Mumbai, has been going on a journey every year since 2008, in which more than 75 thousand youth from 23 countries have participated so far.

A 16-year-old initiative, Jagriti Yatra is leading a unique movement of ‘BUILDING INDIA THROUGH ENTERPRISE’ focused on Middle India (Tier 2/3 India).

A non-profit initiative, Jagriti Yatra is a 15-day, 8000-km entrepreneurship train journey to inspire youth to become entrepreneurs. It has been running since 2008, impacting 7500+ youth from India and 23 countries globally. It focuses on Tier 2 and Tier 3 districts of India, (what is termed Middle India), and it is also creating an enterprise ecosystem in Eastern UP.

Refined over years, Jagriti Yatra is an innovation that been running for 16 years and has been replicated successfully in four other countries. Today, “Yatris” (Travelers) are a growing community of entrepreneurs in India and abroad.

Designed in an experiential format, Jagriti Yatra will give you unique insights into understanding Inclusive Entrepreneurship by immersing yourself in India of small towns and villages in company of 450 other participants, providing a unique learning and networking forum.

Most of the passengers of this train are young entrepreneurs. The sole purpose of the journey is to connect, network, and guide the young entrepreneurs involved in it.

In this 15-day journey, about 100 gurus suggest to the youth the opportunities and solutions available on topics like agriculture, education, energy, health, manufacturing, water and sanitation, art literature, and culture.

During the total journey of 8000 km, this train goes to 10 to 12 cities in India, and 500 passengers board the train. The journey of the Jagruti Yatra, which will begin on November 16 this year, will start from Mumbai, pass through cities including Hubli, Bengaluru, Madurai, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, and Delhi, and end in Ahmedabad on December 1.

It is one of the most special and longest journeys in the world.

HOBBY

The art and joy of reading 📚 

Reading or writing is an art. When you are at it, the kind of joy that both provide has to be experienced by oneself. And when you get a book of your preference, and that too after a long wait, it evokes in you a bubbling and child-like enthusiasm. Reading may be a compulsory exercise for a student, past-time for a retired person, but a pleasure for many. 

Reading disturbs the mind, and good reading generates waves of thinking and emotion, thus the pleasure is instant, and it continues to linger in the mind. Good reading lifts you up from the harsh realities of life into the world of imagination. A motivational book impels and helps to transmute grief into joy, failure into success, pain into pleasure and fear into hope. While we read from top, an inspiring book elevates us from bottom up.

To a book-lover, nothing can be more fascinating than a favourite book, and one who is interested and absorbed in his daily occupation, wants occasionally to escape out of his drudgery into the wonderland for recreation and enjoyment. Living in an era where virtually everything has turned into 'e' mode, there are certain old and die-hard habits that will never go into oblivion, and a book in print is one such. 

WORDS WORTH READING

Perception

 

People's perception about us defines them and not us. We meet so many people in our daily life. All these people have their own opinions about us. Some people may have good opinions about us while others may not. It is really interesting to know how many different perceptions different people can have about the same person. 

Many people get too attached with other people’s perception of them. They become very happy when someone appreciates them and become very sad when someone insults them. This type of person cannot be happy whatsoever because a person cannot satisfy everyone at the same time.

The moment we earn admirers, we also earn critics. We cannot control what other people think about us. In our society, it is the most commonly seen problem that people care too much about what others will think and in the process of pleasing everyone, we end up losing our own identity. This mentality is one of the main reasons contributing to the increase in depression in people. 

A person’s perception depends on his or her values and inner state of being. So, when a person says anything about us, it stems from his or her way of thinking, which again is based on his or her past experiences and / or traumas. We should not be attached to other's opinions about us. If a person has good opinion about us, then it means that he or she is a good person; it does not necessarily mean we are good. And vice versa. Hence we shouldn't be attached to good and bad opinions. 

Now this does not mean that we will become overconfident and start to think that we are perfect. We must develop our own perception about ourselves and our life and we must honestly criticise our negative actions. Our own perception about ourselves should be unbiased and strong. It should not be affected by others' perceptions. By doing this, we can live devoid of any unnecessary sadness caused by others' words and/ or actions. At the same time, we can constantly progress by criticising ourselves from time to time. 

THE EIGHT FACETS OF DIVINE PROSPERITY

Ashtalakhmi 

Ashtalakhmi refers to the eight revered forms of Goddess Lakshmi, each representing a unique aspect of prosperity, well-being and happiness. Together, they are worshipped to invoke a holistic sense of abundance, covering spiritual, material and intellectual prosperity. 

Adi Lakshmi: The primal form of Lakshmi represents eternal wealth, spiritual strength and the origin of all prosperity. 

Dhanya Lakshmi: She provides food, grains and nourishment, ensuring that devotees have enough to sustain their lives and the lives of others. 

Dhairya / Veer Lakshmi: The embodiment of courage, valour and strength, she grants fearlessness and resilience in overcoming challenges. 

Gaja Lakshmi: Symbolising royal power, abundance and fertility, she is often depicted with elephants. 

Santana Lakshmi: The bestower of progeny and protection of children is worshipped by those seeking blessings for family continuity and the welfare of their offspring. 

Vijaya Lakshmi: The Goddess of success and victory helps her devotees achieve triumph in their endeavours, be it in battles, competitions or day-to-day struggles. 

Vidya Lakshmi: She encourages intellectual growth, learning and education, crucial for personal and societal advancement.

Dhana Lakshmi: The Goddess of material wealth and prosperity is believed to bring abundance in terms of money and other valuable resources necessary for leading a comfortable life. 

STORY

The elephant that was captured twice 

There was a huge elephant who lived in the Vindhya Hills. He had enormous tusks that looked like the thunderbolts of heaven.

One day, the elephant was caught in an iron trap laid by an elephant catcher. The animal tried to break out of the trap for three days but failed. The elephant catcher watched him from a distance. In great suffering, the elephant opened his mouth wide and uttered a roar like thunder. Then, he exerted the force of his tusks and managed to break out of the trap. 

The hunter who was watching this from far away, climbed a tall palm tree. When the elephant passed under the tree, the hunter jumped down, aiming to land on its head. Unfortunately, he missed and landed on the ground near the elephant's feet. The elephant could have easily trodden over the hunter, but it thought that was not bravery to trample over a fallen enemy. It kindly spared the life of the hunter and made his way back into the forest. 

After the elephant had gone away, the hunter slowly got up from the ground. He was relieved to see himself alive and surprised to note that despite the fall from the palm tree, he was unhurt. He felt sorry that his attempt to capture the elephant had failed. He felt like a treasure seeker who had seen the treasure only to see it slip away from him. He decided to try again. He roamed the jungle and finally found the elephant resting under a shady tree. The hunter dug a circular ditch near that place. He covered it with green branches and leaves. 

One day, the elephant was roaming in the jungle when he came to the ditch. Due to the branches and leaves, he could not see it. As soon as he stepped on them, he fell headlong. The pit was deep, and the elephant was trapped. It remained trapped there till it died. 

The elephant died because it did not kill the cruel hunter the first time. If the elephant had put an end to him, it would not have fallen into the deep pit. However, at that time, the animal was happy just at the thought of getting back its freedom. It did not think about the root cause of the problem, the hunter, and did not do anything about him. 

The lesson for us is that when we make a mistake, we must learn from it and make sure the root cause is removed so that we don’t commit it again, as the proverb says, 'to stumble twice against the same stone is a disgrace'.

ILLUMINATING INNER SELF

Celebrating festival of lights - Diwali 

Though the festival of light is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains over their respective beliefs, Diwali generally commemorates the triumph of light over darkness or wisdom over ignorance. More than that, the festival symbolises dispelling of one's inner darkness and getting rid of negative thoughts. 

प्रसादे सर्वदु:खानां हानिरस्योपजायते|

प्रसन्नचेतसो ह्याशु बुद्धि: पर्यवतिष्ठते||

When a man attains peace, all sorrow and suffering caused by the unbalanced mind and rebellious senses come to an end. By peace and purity, the mind is soon fixed in the Self.

The above verse from the Bhagavad Gita explains that when the mind is freed from impure impulses, the aim of spiritual life is achieved. Just as in a clean mirror the reflection is perfectly clear, even so in the purified mind the Self shines forth in its own splendour and glory.

As the festival of light Diwali comes closer, we start “cleaning” every nook and cranny of of our house. 

But there’s one more aspect which we ignore. Physical cleaning is no doubt necessary, but cleansing your innerself is equally important because God resides only in pure sparkling hearts. Eliminating negative feelings, thoughts, and painful pasts brings joy, happiness, and enlightenment. Cluttered inner space creates feelings of burden and stress, similar to a cluttered house. We don’t even know what occupies that particular space until and unless we clean them both – ourselves and the house. So, Diwali is not just a festival of bursting crackers and decorating houses; it is a celebration of the divine within each individual. It is a time to reflect on one’s inner light and strive for spiritual growth. The rituals and traditions associated with Diwali help individuals connect with their spiritual selves and deepen their understanding.

In history, legends: 

Apart from the return of Lord Rama from 14-year-long Vanavas, Pandavas from 12-year exile, and Puja, there are several other legends and stories associated with the celebration of Diwali.

Here’s a look at a few of them.

Rebirth of Goddess Lakshmi: Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, holds a significant place in the celebrations of Diwali. According to the legend, there was a time when God Indra’s arrogance led Lakshmi to depart from the divine realm and take refuge in the milky ocean. Her absence plunged the world into darkness, and the gods were determined to bring her back. After churning the milky ocean (Samudra Manthan) for over thousand years, Goddess Lakshmi was eventually reborn. She emerged from the depths, seated gracefully on a magnificent lotus flower, once again bestowing her blessings of prosperity and good fortune upon the world.

Triumph over Narakasura: In the southern regions of India, the story of Lord Krishna’s triumph over demon king Narakasura has a special place in the celebrations of Diwali. Narakasura had a blessing from Lord Brahma that he could only be vanquished by the hand of his mother. Narakasura was born from earth. However, Narakasura was very sure that she would never harm him. Interestingly, his mother was reborn as Krishna’s wife, Satyabhama (incarnation of bhoodevi i.e. prithvi). When Narakasura severely injured Krishna during a battle, Satyabhama ultimately dealt the fatal blow to Narakasura. In his final moments, Narakasura requested a boon from Satyabhama that everyone should celebrate his death with colourful lights. Thus, this day is celebrated as Naraka Chaturdashi - the beginning day of Diwali.

Mahavira’s Nirvana: While the previous legends come from Hindu mythology, Jains have their own reason to celebrate Diwali. Lord Mahavira, a contemporary of Gautama Buddha, reached enlightenment at the time of Diwali in the 6th century BCE, around the time of the first historical records of the festival’s observation. His achievement of nirvana serves as the primary reason why Jains celebrate Diwali.

Guru Hargobind’s release from prison: Sikhs also hold their own version of Diwali known as Bandi Chhor Divas. InSikhism, on this date, the sixteenth Guru, Guru Hargobind was released from the imprisonment of the Mughal king, Jehangir. It is also a time of year during which all Sikhs traditionally gather to receive guru blessings and has been observed as a Sikh festival since the 16th-century.