Director’s Corner – Memorial Day
Last Monday of every year, The United States of America marks Memorial Day. The entire country honors the memory of all the great souls who gave the ultimate sacrifice in defense of freedom while serving in armed forces – Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard.
The tradition of Memorial Day has roots starting after the end of Civil war. Originally this day was known as the Decoration Day. This day became a federal holiday starting in 1917.
America’s Civil War of 1860s had claimed the greatest number of lives of all conflicts in U.S. history. While communities started organizing memorial gatherings during the Spring of every year, officially the federal government recognized Waterloo, New York as the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1966. On May 5th, 1866, Waterloo started an annual event when all businesses where closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.
After World War I Decoration Day evolved into Memorial Day, to commemorate American Military personnel who died in all wars. Since then, America has been in the theater of war in World War II, the Vietnam War, The Korean War and more recently in Afghanistan and Iraq and few others.
In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. The change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.
Everyone probably associates the 24-note tune distinctive bugle melody with Memorial Day Commemoration known as – Taps,” The lights-out” signal to soldiers at night, date back to the American Civil War.
In July 1862, U.S. General Daniel Butterfield and his brigade were camped at Harrison’s Landing, Virginia, recuperating after the Seven Days Battles near Richmond. Dissatisfied with the standard bugle call employed by the Army to indicate to troops it was time to go to sleep, and thinking the call should sound more melodious, Butterfield reworked an existing bugle call used to signal the end of the day. After he had his brigade bugler, Private Oliver Wilcox Norton, play it for the men, buglers from other units became interested in the 24-note tune and it quickly spread throughout the Army, and even caught on with the Confederates.
India commemorates Remembrance Day annually on November 11. On this day, the Allied powers signed a ceasefire agreement with Germany at Rethondes, France, at 11:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918, thus bringing the World War I to an end. Since that time many of the places then colonized by Great Britain commemorate Remembrance Day.
This Memorial Day, IAGB joins millions of Americans in horning the memory of fallen!
– Sanjay Kudrimoti
Nidhi exclaimed, “I felt…as if I was in heaven! The magical beauty of Leh-Ladakh will beckon you year after year and will leave you still wanting more!” Her words left me with sudden fascination towards this rustic and heavenly beautiful travel destination Leh. That’s all I needed to know, and I knew Leh will be an incredible vacation destination! 
After we reached Leh, the feeling was one of its own kind. The airport was surrounded by mountains and we seemed like we were walking on clouds. There are some things which cannot be put in words, love is one of them and then there is Ladakh- the land of scenic beauty, rustic charm and nature at its best. Nevertheless, I will try to pen down my experience of Ladakh as best as I can, trying hard not to lose myself in those brilliant moments spent in the lap of the majestic Himalayas. 
Cellphones don’t work here and you will be glad they don’t! After acclimatizing ourselves with the place it was time to explore and discover the hidden gems of Leh which everyone talks about. 
Our first stop was the Hall of Fame Museum. The splendid museum built by the Indian army, is definitely worth a visit. One section of the museum holds the immense memorabilia of the Kargil war. There were biographies of eminent defense personalities, weapons used in the war and enemy soldiers’ various belongings found at the war site. The other section of the museum was dedicated to Siachen war and its heroes, discover the attires, daily instruments and multi layered shoes of the soldiers kept on display.
Later in the day we stopped by few monasteries and the Shanti Stupa, an imposing, white-domed sacred shrine positioned on a hilltop at Changspa, was built by a Japanese Buddhist organization to honor 2500 years of Buddhism. Atop we enjoyed the stunning panoramic views of sunset at the Himalayas.
Next day, early morning, we started for Nubra valley and the climate was just perfect. Just gazing at the mountains and admiring their beauty makes you feel so satisfied. The route to Nubra valley was extremely picturesque and mind blowing, however there were many steep curves and sharp turns that made us feel giddy. 
We crossed Khardungala pass, which happens to be the highest motor-able pass in the world, nestled at an altitude of about slightly more than 18000 feet. The pass turns out to be a meeting place of almost all the bikers. Atop the journey we saw the confluence of the Indus and the 
The Magnetic hill was our last spot to visit. The hill has powerful magnetic properties that pulls cars uphill and forces aircrafts to increase their altitude to avoid magnetic interference It is actually an optical illusion caused by particular layout of the hills that makes a very little downhill slope to appear as uphill slope. Our car was literally driving itself towards the hill. The magnetic properties was pulling it towards itself.
To sum it all, our experience of Leh was an experience of a lifetime. It is not a very sought after destination but if you happen to end up there you will definitely find that as the best decision of your life. 
To increase autism acceptance in our community, I spoke with some mothers of neurodivergent children to bring to you their stories: their journeys, their joys, their sorrows and their struggles of raising a child on the spectrum. 
Filling up my cup relates to creating a white space for oneself to do what one feels important and excited about. The last many months have posed innumerable challenges to every one of us, personally and professionally. Several blogs have come out from many, and a recent study by Mintel points to a lot more at-home personal routines for physical and mental well-being. 
As I began to write about our life, mine, my son’s, our family’s it turned out to be about more than just us. It became a story of everyone around us and about the community we live in.