UTTARAKHAND, INDIA , June 15, 2018 ( Daily Pioneer): The first batch of pilgrims undertaking the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra from India this year proceeded on the pilgrimage after arriving in Kathgodam on Tuesday. The first batch consisting of 59 pilgrims including 17 women was welcomed in traditional Kumaoni style on their arrival here. After being received in Kathogadam where the pilgrims spent some time, they departed for Almora on the same day. After spending the night at Almora, the pilgrims will reach Dharchula in Pithoragarh district on Wednesday. From there they will move onward to Gunji where a medical camp has also been organized for the pilgrims.
The Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) managing director Trilok Singh Martoliya informed that one batch of pilgrims will take 25 days to complete the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. The pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar this year will continue till September 8 with a total of 1080 pilgrims slated to undertake it. [HPI note: this pilgrimage is organized by the Government of India and takes two routes through India to Tibet, whereas most pilgrims go via Nepal, which is easier. The Ministry of External Affairs website for the yatra is https://kmy.gov.in/kmy/?lang=en.]
NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 5, 2018 (The Print): The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has claimed to have found the remains of two chariots and eight well-preserved bodies in a burial chamber in Sinauli, Uttar Pradesh. Sinauli is considered an important contemporary Harappan burial site in Bagphat district. The team, according to ASI director (excavations), Sanjay Manjul, found three of the bodies placed in pedestaled coffins, and recovered remains of the two chariots such as wheels, axles and poles, leading to speculation that those buried in the chambers may have been royalty.
The new discoveries, especially those of the chariots are a landmark moment since no such physical evidence has been found at a contemporary Harappan site, Manjul said. ”This is the very first time such evidence has ever been recovered. The coffins and chariots are something we haven’t encountered before. This discovery is not only important in the context of India, but the world,” Manjul said. ”The artefacts probably belong to a period between 2000-1800 BCE. It can help us determine how those people lived. It may help re-evaluate how we understood the late Harappan contemporary culture. It is a significant development in the Ganga-Yamuna doab,” Manjul told the ThePrint.
Parents must teach children to appreciate those who are different, those who believe differently; teach them the openness that they need to live in a pluralistic world where others have their unique ways, their life and culture; teach them the value of human diversity and the narrow-mindedness of a provincial outlook; give them the tools to live in a world of differences without feeling threatened, without forcing their ways or their will on others; teach them that it never helps to hurt another of our brothers or sisters.
— Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001), founder of Hinduism Today
