Apratim

I've always struggled with Marathi... and so, to bring a Marathi adjective out of me, the cause had to be Apratim... Incomparable.

The time was 06h:28m:30s on the 22nd July 2009. The place was the terrace of a local school in Bihar Sharif, India. The cause was the 2nd Diamond Ring from the spectacular Total Solar Eclipse I had just witnessed. I am now proudly, one of the few people in India who actually wanted to, travelled for and saw the eclipse.



Here is a video of the indescribable hysteria which prevailed...

My local Valley of Flowers

On some Saturdays when I have a holiday and they don't, I love to take walks in the Government Nursery just behind my workplace. Every month there is something new to see there. It is one of those corners of the city that is almost shrouded by trees. The flora and fauna are so vibrant and variant there. I contain myself in Summers when its dry to let the land prepare for an inundation by the green. Most of my garden's seasonal plants come from there sometime after September. The beautiful blooms of winter are only for a chosen few to see. This time I didn't visit all of Jan and Feb and I was in for a pleasant surprise. The gardeners had simply planted the leftover seasonal flowering saplings in wide rows instead of throwing them away. However, Nature unleashed its compositions and I was instantly transferred to a 'Valley of Flowers' when I stepped into the nursery.

                       Ink on paper is as beautiful to me as flowers on the mountains;
God composes, why shouldn't we?

Audra Foveo-Alba

This picture does make me see the point in the above line that Chikki sent me... It was a complement for the pictures I took at the nursery. Maths and Physics are definitive sciences learnt from the study of Nature and its not Nature who follows our rules in her compositions. The rules themselves are so perfect. There is consistency in all of Nature's patterns. Even though you cannot see all the equations floating around there in the waves, in the flowers, in the faces, in the stars... they are there and I consider myself special to be able to comprehend a sight both ways... to be able to capture it and to be able to write about it.

1st Published Picture

Yes! This is my first Astro picture to be published in a newspaper (Sakal). Of course, whether you realise it or not, it is a great picture.

Catching that slightest of darkening of the Moon during the Partial Lunar Eclipse of Feb 09, 2009 was the aim. A penumbra refers to a partially shaded outer region of a shadow that an object casts. In a Penumbral Eclipse the moon's surface is not completely shadowed by the earth's umbra (the darkest part of a shadow). The moon passes through the faint penumbral portion of the earth's shadow and observers see only the slightest dimming near the lunar limb.

The Moon rose eclipsed on the East horizon as the eclipse started at 18:09 IST... before moonrise. As the Full Moon passed into the outer shadow of the Earth it dimmed slightly, but no shading was visible to the naked eye until about two-thirds of the moon's disk was immersed in the penumbra. In the picture, the faint penumbral shadow of the Earth is on the top left of the Moon's limb. The image appears mirror inverted as it is captured with the 14" reflecting telescope we have in our terrace observatory. In fact this is a very difficult shot as I had to do it hand-held for the lack of a camera-telescope adapter. Considering the required sharpness, I had to stop it at f/5 and hence an exposure of 1/8 sec was the most I could hold steady. Although the cropping is not ok, the sharpness for me is surprisingly & pleasurably good.

Here is a pic of the Eclipsed Moonrise.



I am now looking forward to the Total Solar Eclipse of July 22 morning and the Partial Lunar Eclipse of December 31 night. These will give us a good chance to celebrate this UN declared International Year of Astronomy.

House Improvement

My friends Susmita, Saumyadip and me had for a while been contemplating temporarily adorning some part of my house. The colourful flowers don't seem enough after while. The outside has a lovely earthy brown colour - a perfect background for a Warli painting. I wanted to paint the walls with some temporary paint which would go if I didn't like the result. Sus and Saumya also noticed that my curved porch with three steps is also alluring for a Rangoli or Alpana artist.

So on Diwali afternoon, quitting our lethargy, we took it on ourselves to finally do something about our wishes. Obviously, rice paste was required for both. A design was formed sitting right there by the experienced old Saumya. Under his "direction" Sus was set to work with a small rag dipped in the batter. To make an Alpana, one soaks up some of rice paste in a cloth piece and applies a wet line of it on the floor according to design. It takes a few minutes for it to dry and the enamel-white design to spring out of the floor. I tried my hand at the window sill with a brush. Soon another friend, Samridhi, joined in and made an easy job of the rest of the area.

My talent is yet to reach those heights and so I was the spot-boy-cum-producer of the show. My painting skills are ofcourse with light and there was still some time to admire the lovely Alpana at my footsteps before I could begin my work. I spent the evening clicking some of these pictures of the Diwali celebrations. I consider the Beer-can Kandil as my place in the All-Winners line up on my doorfront.


Update: Tanu too visited me soon and finally put a Warli thingie on my door in her own inimitable way.

Ooty me Chutti

The motley group has left. I have my bus to Bangalore at night, so am waiting as time passes. Lying on the lawn in the sun I find the grass alive with all sorts of insect drama...& the birds were singing such melodies to accompany that... My arena seems quite entertaining. The sunbird humming in the bush just besides me makes me feel like one of my childhood friends - Rima*. I could almost reach out and touch it. The sun glinting off its feathers, the bird meticulously picks up every hanging flower from the purple and white bunch and peers in for the coveted nectar.

Okay okay... for the ones who are really in the dark about where I am, I am in Ooty and since I have nothing to do now, the following is going to be a flashback at the trip...



Day 1: After another journey in a train AC, which included 18 hrs of sleep, reading 'The Little Prince', some group fun, lotsa yummy food and a pleasant surprise by Tanu [at Bangalore Cantt. ;)], I reached Coimbatore early in the morning. The bus ride to Ooty was about 3 hrs long... standing at the gate, eating plums and enjoying the views go past. The Nilgiri hills subjugate any feeling of pride that may be around in ones head. There are more reasons than one to call them to call them "breathtaking"... The air is fresh and crisp and the sight of the blue sky makes you take really deep breaths. :) The climb to Conoor, starting at Mettupalayam takes an hour. This is where we saw the first tea plantations. [I am resisting all temptations to compare it to Darjeeling]...Next stop Ooty...

The rain started just as we got into town. So we rushed to a local restaurant & had loads of rice with sambar, rasam, etc. on a banana leaf...! The time post repast was spent at the Railway station which is so quaint.

Our vehicle picked us up from there to take us to the campus of the Ooty Radio Telescope. yup... astronomy here too! The director of the institute, Dr.P.K. Manoharan is an admirable person. He has made all arrangements. :) It is an amazingly beautiful location 20 mins drive from Ooty. I've seen the telescope only in pictures as yet, but in reality it is awesome. The guest house is also cool.

Felt like running away from all people & instantly took a liking to the garden in front of the telescope control room. Greedily took all photos I could in half an hour. I was so charged up that I didnt feel the slightest of shivers roaming around in shorts and tees. The temperature was ~18 degrees!

This was followed by a loooong walk exploring the campus... Spent some time at the base of the telescope. There is a clearing there with a secret path that I can see leading into the thick jungle. But in the clearing, sitting on one of the posts of the telescope, one feels like the king of the place. I wish 'king nothing' had a crown :D The Daisy fields simply extend to the edge of everywhere... The birds sound so nice in the silence of the valley. I could make out the melodious robins, the hammering barbets, the whistling thrush, the ticking crickets and there were so many other sounds to find the origins of. Saw black faced macaques lazily eating eucalyptus leaves!!!

Later in the evening I took the jungle path into a village beyond. I went to look for the bus stop so I could get back into town. As soon as I stepped out of the campus gate, I noticed that the valley was covered with big veggie farms... potatoes, cauliflowers, beans, carrots & other stuff. There were tea gardens too a bit further away. Spotted the most adorable cows with their round black eyes... its been a long time since I watched a milkman milk one!!

It was time for sunset and the sky had clouded all over. But suddenly, out of somewhere, a sliver of gold came out & lit up the hill tops in the East... breathtaking sight... just stood there till the color faded and the village lights came on... [I ve stopped missing having a camera of my own]

There's a temple at the bottom of the valley and I'm sure it was playing some hindi songs... That's a surprise and needs to be checked as they have shifted to prayers at that moment.

A long walk in crisp cold air makes one really Hungry. By the way the lunches and dinners here are expected to be really uneventful, with lots & lots of rice and jokes.

Day 2: "Shiver shiver shiver... hey Where am I? & Why am I cold? Oh yeah I'm in Ooty and am supposed to be out exploring. giddyupppp...!"

After this self-intereaction, I brushed my white teeth with the yellow spring water that we get in the taps here. [Its supposed to be bacteria free but not mud free :D] & rushed to the garden. I had found these steps in front of the control room from where I had an awesome view of the telescope valley. I was trying one more skecth and so could use some entertainment. So yes... the village temple down below was playing hindi songs... Baazigar and DDLJ of all albums! Theres no harm enjoying them if you cant go switch them off.

The day was intended for going to the town for a touristy visit & the Sun was out. We walked to the village bus stand and stood there waiting. After seeing how packed the two buses that arrived were, Arvind decided that we hire an open roofed tempo for a ride!! It was a thrilling and unforgettable roller-coaster ride from Muthuvarai village to the 'city'...

The famous Botanical garden is about 3 kms from the main bus stand. Its a must see and the interested one should spare about three hours to fully explore it... spoilsports can ofcourse stay out. Took a few pics on a borrowed camera... [Thanx Kanad!] Well words are no good to describe them... so take a look!

The the rain came as I'd predicted. The lack of umbrellas of others is of course always a pleasure :D Got my shoes all wet walking in the rain. The best way around it was of course to buy a pair of chappals!

The rains here are mostly in the afternoon, when the warm humid air rises and cools suddenly. The orographic rain condenses on the hillslopes 'out of the blue' and its a 'good' experience if you are not a regular in Ooty. It might be wet on one slope and sunny on another.

Getting back in the back of a cramped Jeep was another experience. We at the back were almost hanging out of it. But the driver doesn't spare you the jolts just for that simple reason.

The evening was time for another nice walk with the kiddos. Took them exploring the local flora and fauna and we did some discoveries. There were so many varieties of conifers to identify and collect the cones from [and lots of hindi puns to make on the word 'cone' :D]. In this endeaour, we for the first time in our life discovered a specimen of the carnivorous pitcher plant! Finding a pool made by a stream and a tree with really big cones added to our joy. The best happenning was Dhruv finding a porcupine quill! All of us were very happy with our collection. I couldn't believe it that the kids, instead of being tired, played Jedi Knights on the climb up! :)

Day 3:

The first observation with the Ooty radio telescope was scheduled today! At ~12 noon we took readings of a celestial radio-galaxy. Its awesome to see the whole 530m x 30m structure move with such precision as to track an object in the sky. The Sun glinting off the wires stretched across the chasis, working as reflectors, almost made a rainbow...

We took some time free in the afternoon and went back to town to visit leftover places. Some lazybones stayed back & slept... ufff! It was all unplanned fun... One place not to miss in Ooty is the Thread Garden. Its a masterpiece of hardwork. A whole big garden with all its vegetation made of silk threads! All lifelike to that...

The second thing not to forget in Ooty, is to eat 'Homemade Chocolates' which are sold in all shops! :) I've been stuffed with boiled rice for the last 4 days... so finally was also glad to have some fresh patties!

Okay...this was probably the last tourist visit to town I will have. Have not yet explored the race course, the tea gardens, the Rose garden, the Cemetary, the Fernhill Palace & the Potato research institute...!

We had a quick photosession at the station again... The ride on the Engine was cut short by some shouting by a policeman. :D I will not be taking the train out of town as was planned earlier. On the way back we rode a really crowded bus with really funky music on which made us all shake. Whoever's heard of hip-hop bhajans? :D

A Clear Midnight
This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done,
Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou lovest best.
Night, sleep, and the stars.

Walt Whitman

Time for another night walk. It seems one can never have enough of the eucalyptus and pine scented air. I felt like carrying a bottle full of it home. With the above lines as wishes from a great pal [thanx Chikki], I was out for a stroll in the chilly night of Ooty with the stars in the clear sky for company. I'd planned to stay awake all night as this will be my last one in Ooty. I had to be a bit careful as I had forgotten to get any warm clothes. But, I discovered that a bottle of hot water inside my shirt does wonders... and two pouches of instant coffee in the same bottle do even better :D

The southern cross [constellation] has never looked so high to me ever since I found it during my Fergusson College days... Besides it, the stars alpha and beta Centauri, were dazzling... They just grab your attention. Its always a pleasure to see the star nearest to the Sun, especially here, in all its glory, with its apparent twin. The moon above was almost full. A wonderful full moon night in Bangalore will be a gift.


Day 4: Woke up hearing that most of the group was not feeling well. Its not a very good feeling to feel somehow responsible for someone's ill health. It was a day of parting with the group, so I left them early for my visit to town.

The highlight of today was ofcourse a visit to The Blue Mountains School. This school founded way back in the 60's as an alternative school. But, as is the state of most 'different' schools, it is in dire straits. Now, with a new principal, it is starting all over. In her words, "Its hard to keep pressures of societal expectations at bay. How does one keep mediocrity away and insist on high academic standards in an alternative situation?" Currently, there are only 8 students on the rolls in this residential school.

On the positive side, the hill-slope campus is so beautiful that I was wondering why I went to the botanical garden for all the pictures. :) Anyways I didnt have a camera handy today. The wooden building has that British era charm. As usual, it poured while I was there. Took a round of the huge campus of the residential school in the rain. I got introduced to the J. Krishnamurti philosophy during a talk with the principal. [I wish to follow up on this later esp. in Bangalore where I might visit a KFI school ]. I was invited for lunch and so I got a little time with the kids. That was a delight... & I got to eat loads of nice mangoes. :)

The return journey was thankfully uneventful as there are already so many memories I'm taking back in this hectic holiday... Looking forward to more running around in Bangalore.

*... oops almost forgot her...! Rima was in one of my fave books from childhood - "Green Mansions" by W H Hudson. The many adventures were exciting & it was also one that made me cry a lot... but its was so beautifully written. All these surroundings made me so nostalgic about this book that is set in a tropical south american forest.

Uneclipsed

Eclipses occur rarely
but they darken things a lot.
Be it your field-of-view or all of your thoughts.

Wake up expecting a morning
and Night is what you find.
An Eclipse of the Sun or an Eclipse of your Mind.

The Sun gets covered by the Moon's limb
Shadows roam the land...
The Brain is overrun by thoughts you cannot understand.

Forms of darkness intimidate
although they are just absence of Light.
Raging inside they stay, useless is your improved sight.

Strange are the choices your Mind gives you...

Worry not about the dark In and Out,
See the strong light of Hope.
Or wallow in the fog and for a feeble support grope.

Uneasiness is the lack of faith
in Goodness, in Reason and its foresight.
A survivor knows there will always again be Light.

The Sun is really gone only when it sets.
You should really die only with your Death.
Die not everyday with thoughts that upset.

Gravity completes a flawless show,
a few make money saying its a jinx!
Be not fooled by negativity, Resist what you don't want to Think.         

Eclipses don't change the Sun and Moon's ways,
You stay an Angel even with wings clipped.
Only your belief in yourself can get you Uneclipsed...

Yesterday I too was Uneclipsed of some thoughts. So this one had to come out [pun intended].

There was a partial eclipse of the Sun today. The Sun rose eclipsed. This was my fifth partial Solar eclipse. I woke up early in the morning for it and also caught it in this picture. Its a difficult thing to control your emotions at such Heavenly events. I bet this is my fastest written poem ever.

More:
Amit got some awesome shots of the eclipse.

Windows

Sunshine in some windows,
the light setting for some.
Windows have hands waving byes or
eyes waiting for someone to come.
Music from some, laughter from others
Screams from a few ignored by neighbours.
Many low and open,
a few high and kept.
Drops of rain in some,
other sills wet with tears wept.
Some curtain loneliness,
some are closed to hide amour.
Queues of people besides some...
wait for the faceless provider
Transparent glass showing off affluence
Glazed glass keeping out the prying eyes
Coloured glass keeping in the colourlessness...                                                                                    

I was in Goa last October and was fascinated by the arc(h)ane windows. Especially one that inspired me to think of a partial story. That one hasn't been typed yet, but I did come up with the above while coding today morning...

Here are the Windows' pictures I'd taken in Panaji and around.


PS: Totally off topic, but on Windows... M$ unleashed another virus on the World, called "Vista" on January the 30th. A cheap copy of the Mac OS's looks thats ages late. With it, the Windows people have become extremely aggresive in its promotion upto the level of being impolite and refusing sale of any new computers without the customers choosing Vista! As usual it is also far more intrusive with your personal information.

I'm ofcourse on my self-customised [& far better looking] Linux-box writing this... :) But here is Free Software Foundation's site about Vista. Support Free Software... Its not about freebies, its about Freedom!

Chaas

As usual I'd woken up, just in time to brush, bath and have milk before I had to go. It was a tuesday! [19th Dec... & ya i ve become a baby again... have milk in the morning and evening :D]

Before I get out of the house everyday, I convince myself that I am living this day because there is some work expected of me. If not, then life would probably be over. Its a good positive thought to think making whatever we do seem worthwhile. Its not everyday that we do great feats but the thought prepares you for them without making you expect them. I also keep just enough time at hands so as to be able to do most jobs but not get lost in thoughts that I wanna keep away from.

The village was Wada, in the Khed Taluka.

So I got out and finished work like arranging things, loading the car, checking my list of things before I go etc. and got on the way. This time the route was not the same as the one I ve been taking every tuesday for the last few months. So I somehow was apprehensive about it. But it seemed that the road was better and there were equally nice village scenes on this route. Only the IUCAA telescope wasn't visible so it was kinda not in our present propaganda to go to this village. Well I myself was interested only in sharing my knowledge with the kids. But I look out for our purpose too.

This day was no different... and the perk I got for doing my work properly was that I got to see a water reservior created by the Chaas Kaman dam. It is in the same taluka that I was going to. It was an amazing sight. Like one of those pictures of lakes/loches in europe... only closer [~60km]. & it was a bright early morning sunshine. The colours and atmosphere was just there to behold and absorb. I have taken some fotos with another guy's mobile camera [links coming soon]... but they cannot capture what the minds eye keeps.

In contrast to the quaint maharastrian villages that we were passing through, we were Suddenly on the side of a sort of a valley. There were yellow and green fields growing right upto the water's edge. The village huts with their roofs & courtyards, gave a nice contrast. The simple people around were busy feeding their cows, tending to their daily washing, bathing, basking in the sun etc. :) it was so tempting to just get down there and go sit by the water's edge.

But no I had to go on. I reached the village early and the school was yet to start. unlike the casual city people here, the villagers always treat a guest very specially. more often than not, I get to share the stage with the Principal at the daily assembly. This is a special event and I dont know if its done in other countries. Everyday, kids stand in queues in the ground in front of the school. Its nice to get in the Sun these chilly days :) Everybody has to strictly stand in a line at attention position. Then at one go they all start the one song that is dear to every Indian heart... jana gana mana - the national anthem. Without inhibitions everyone just sings out loud & its a high feeling to have it echoing from all directions in such magnitude. This is followed by the loud reiteration of an oath to the school and the nation and then a prayer. This again I welcome as its not just moral education but also a great breathing exercise for everyone!

This school also had a 15 minute special programme in which everyday 6 chosen children prepare small informative material to read out to the assembly... Things like - details of the day including sunrise & set times, moon phase etc., news headlines of the day, general knowledge questions of the day, thought for the day, a short story of the day etc. I can see how inhibited they are to go on stage and how they go through their collected material hurriedly. But its fun to realise how hard the kid's heart must be beating at such a public appearance & due to his responsibilty. I was lucky to be at this school where kids are taught self-confidence and pride for the nation before starting their routines.

But i never realised that all the 400-500 kids who were sitting there on the ground before me, [as I spoke my words of the guest of honour :D] would soon be packed into the nearby hall. I had to show them a glimpse of the universe and how astronomy & science as a whole is simply learning through observations of nature. Well its now almost in my veins how to do it & I fumble much less with the local Marathi. I probably tortured the kids with my science jokes in the next 2-3 hours but some faces said I'd done my job well. :)

And then we left tired and hungry. around the hill & the lake was back at the turn! [I'm making it seem so important coz it was an imprssive sight] In the afternoon, all was quiet and there was a small farm by its side. I walked past it, through a field and got to the shore and plomped down. There were some migratory birds there already! I cant express it but there was something very relaxing abt the place.

Your mind's voice lost focus to the sound of the waves and the birds.
The Sun was gently caressing my back with its warm hands.
My hair flowed as if the wind had fingers.
There was a certain tingle in my backbone as if the Earth was reaching up into my brain.
The water poured into my ears with its lapping sound.
The hunger, the pain in my throat just disappeared.
If i'd died at that moment i would have been very unhappy.
It was filling me with Life.

Bored minds & shades of Gray

What do you think when u see two guys in black, running around odd places with black bags and peering through something while contorting into queer positions? Well stop your dirty mind right now. & if you have time to pause and notice them then you shouldnt think, just join them. They would be Me and Sumit [or Amit if I'm lucky] doing some photography.

Last 2 Sundays we have been out to kill the boredom on our mind. The first sunday was a gray mood. It was interesting coz the noon did seem to be of a sepia flavour. It was so lazy one could almost touch the rust on the air. See I am still confusing what senses I was using! So we went to the railway lines besides Koregaon park. & clicked various shades of gray.

The rails were gray, the wood was brown, the trains was rusty, the grass was ochre, the pigeons were ash and the ravens were Black! Check below for pics I could catch and explore my mind for those I didnt. Sumit came up with some of them. We still have some BW film at our disposal... lets see what lies in its future.

Somehow gray always reminds me of Jim and Della & the The Gift of the Magi by O'Henry.

Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a grey cat walking a grey fence in a grey backyard. To-morrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present.

And so does christmas. Here's wishing you all who can afford to have a good one, a good one!

More Pics:
gray01 >> gray02 >> gray03 >> gray04 >> gray05 >> gray06

Update: Sumit too likes to endorse his world through the lens of a camera!
Visit his Flickr page.