Dharamshala, Nov 9, 2012
Why is the night sky, resplendent in all its glory, so quiet? And all these stars, closer than ever, devoid of tales?
I can spot Orion, but who are its neighbors? What is that big one there, and that petite sparkling one over there?
I, who used to know a lot (or so I thought), am clueless. The sky, which I associated with incessant chattering, is mute. I, always a child of the stars, feel like an outsider.
Why is the night sky, resplendent in all its glory, so quiet? And all these stars, closer than ever, devoid of tales?
I can spot Orion, but who are its neighbors? What is that big one there, and that petite sparkling one over there?
I, who used to know a lot (or so I thought), am clueless. The sky, which I associated with incessant chattering, is mute. I, always a child of the stars, feel like an outsider.
Where are the men who used to bring the sky to life for me? Where are their big warm hands, their knowing eyes, their magical words? I miss seeing the sky with their eyes and hearing its voice in their words. I miss Atreya, my new teacher of the skies. And I miss Arun, who first opened my eyes to the sky and its wonders.
The sky is as lost as I am without its navigators. It is as voiceless as I am without its voice bearers. This mute sky has brought to surface the loss, of past and future, that I would rather keep buried.
The sky is as lost as I am without its navigators. It is as voiceless as I am without its voice bearers. This mute sky has brought to surface the loss, of past and future, that I would rather keep buried.
Do you know Puja a week before you people came I wrote this piece which I am writing for you.. from my diary.
ReplyDeleteMy Sky
It is my private sky which I watch in the wee hours of the morning when I am doing Pranayam. Since there is not a soul around, I share not my sky with anyone, not even a bird.
I say hello to my friendly stars which come out from behind the mountain range or the trees one by one in tandom joining the others which are already twinkling scattered all over.
Rarely do I get to see some shooting star at great intervals.
The sky is most beautiful, inky blue or black when the moon is not there on the scene.
One of my stars emerges at around 4.30 am.
It is bright and sparkling and unlike other stars does not blink at all. I consider it my best friend. This morning it did a strange thing. It did not rise up until 4.45 am. I suddenly saw a spark at the edge of the mountain for a split second but it again went down as though somebody had pulled it down. I stopped My Kapal bhati and looked intently at the particular spot.Yet again there was flicker of light which disappeared behind the mountain. Could it be my visual imagination playing this trick on me?!!!Then for quite a while, may be 4-5 mins.the sky in that area looked as innocent as ever and I kept wondering why my best friend was not appearing on the horizon.lo and behold I saw it smiling and glittering rising from behind the mountain as usual but much later than usual.It kept ascending in the sky in its full glory, outshining all others.
The constellation Orion moves from east to south west across My sky and all its members maintain their position
last night I had seen the moon rising at 4 45 am. I knew that today it would make its appearance an hour later, which it did. It was a thin sickle of bright light which soon disappeared at day break
I love my sky and look forward to seeing it tomorrow.
This is lovely mom. The sky in DS is indeed beautiful. You are lucky to have such lovely friends.
DeleteFor those who may not know, both my son and my ex-husband are passionate amateur astronomers. Between the two of them, I have had the privilege of being educated about the night sky since I was 18.
ReplyDelete(Bad education I must say since I don't remember anything!)