DARKNESS AFTER DAWN

On 22nd July 2009, India woke up to witness a rare celestial phenomenon not to be surpassed in the 21st century– the total solar eclipse. This is the longest eclipse of the 21st century, being 6 minutes 38 secs at some places. The eclipse footprint began around 6:30am from western India and then racing across to eastern India in a few minutes before crossing to Burma, small islands of Japan and China. In India, total solar eclipse was visible in the cities lying close to the central and eastern part of India – a narrow strip beginning from the western shore of Surat , moving to the northern cities of Agra, Varanasi, Indore Bhopal, Patna , Bhagalpur and then to the eastern cities of Jalpaigudi, Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Itanagar. In the remaining parts of the country, partial solar eclipse was visible. However, at many places thick dark clouds disappointed many enthusiasts who had gathered to watch the celestial spectacle.

The eclipse had generated a lot of interest in the country. Teams of scientists from various parts of the world including NASA had camped at various places in the country to witness the phenomenon and conduct experiments. Taregna, a small sleepy village 12 miles from Patna, had been declared as the best place to witness the solar eclipse by NASA. Hence, Taregana attracted the maximum number of tourists and scientists. However, man proposes and God disposes. The dark clouds which blotted out the view in many parts of the country, played spoil sport at Taregana too, thus disappointing the people who had gathered there. The spectacular solar eclipse was witnessed in full glory in Agra, the city of Taj Mahal and the holy city of Varanasi.

The next solar eclipse of such a long duration is expected on 13th June, 2132.

Birthday Celebrations - For Whom

All of us celebrate our birthday. Birthday is a very special day in the life of an individual. We party with our friends and relatives. But in all the hullabaloo we tend to forget the most important individual - MOTHER. She is the person resonsible for our existence and who underwent pain for nine months to give birth to the child. She spent sleepless nights so that the child can sleep peacefully. She sacrificed a lot - whether it be her career, money, etc for proper upbringing of the child. Hence, on birthdays, we should never forget our mother. Rather for the child, on his/her birthday celebration, mother should be the most important person. The child's birthday should be cdelebrated as "Mother's Day".

I am reminded of a birthday celebration of a friend of mine, Naresh (name changed). Naresh is a senior executive in a MNC at Hyderabad. He had hosted a big party at his Banjara Hill residence, where he had invited a number of his friends, senior executives of his company and the IT sector and senior bureacrats of the government. His old mother had come all the way from Delhi to celebrate his birthday. However, when I reached his home, I did not find her in the party. I asked Naresh where his mother was. "She is in her room", he said in an indifferent manner. "But she should have been here", I said. "No, she will get bored since she does not know anyone here", Naresh said.

I went to his mother's room which was on the first floor. I found her sitting near the window watching the celebrations from behind the curtain. "Auntie", I said, "why don't you come and join the pary for sometime?". She looked at me, as if trying to figure out an answer. Then she said "No, I do not know English and would not be able to talk to the educated people there. I am fine here". I could sense the pain and agony in her voice and eyes as she uttered these words. She had travelled 2000 kms to be with her son on his birthday, but she could not travel the last 10 meters to be by his side. She watched the celebrations as a mute spectator, sometimes smiling and sometimes tears flowed down her cheeks.