The Solar Eclipse
The morning was flooded with ‘WhatsApp’ messages, news channel updates and flyers circulated about the superstitions about eclipses and the dos and don’ts during this rare event. The day of amalgamation of religious beliefs and scientific evidence had arrived where Mumbai had received the opportunity to witness a total solar eclipse that occurred every 400 years! The terraces were occupied by so many people, reminiscent of the festival of kite flying where kids, adults and grandparents come together to celebrate on the terraces of their houses! However, according to Hindu Mythology, such an eclipse was very inauspicious and marked the day where the demon ‘Rahu’ tricked the Gods and gulped the Sun, in attempt to incinerate the world with its harsh rays! Though astronomy and science enthusiasts were anxious to observe this marvellous phenomenon and capture this experience in their hearts!
My family and I had rushed to the terrace of our building with our eclipse goggles, just a couple minutes before the event commenced. Fellow neighbours were vying for a better view, kids placed on shoulders of their fathers, and everyone bickering about the real truth and reason behind surmises like ‘taking a bath only after the eclipse or fasting for three days and so on…’ put me in a dilemma. A breath-taking phenomenon had brought everyone together yet had divided them into groups that vouched for certain beliefs.
Just as I was looking at the sky, the sun over our heads at noon, letting out its malevolent rays and the sky its alibi that had not held a single cloud to offer as shed from the heat was ready to be blocked, I became still. All the noises and sounds faded as I saw the mighty moon sweep across the sky, the celestial body appeared black in daylight, as it began blocking out the rays of the sun in slow motion. The smoothness of the moon’s movement felt unreal, almost animated! It felt hard to believe that something so dominant and relentless like the sun could be overpowered, even though for a couple hours!
Now the moon had partially covered the sun, giving it a crescent shape that retained its bright, radiant tangerine colour, but the hidden part could only let out shafts of light creating a half, extremely luminescent white fringe! The sight, the feeling of seeing the sky shift colours from blue to grey, dogs barking on the street, the chanting of the ‘Asr Namaz’ of the Mosque near my house that assured everyone that the prayers would protect us from the ill fate the eclipse would bring; this was a surreal feeling. As the moon crept forward, the Baily’s Beads disappeared consequently leaving only a single bead of light that penetrated, was called the ‘Diamond Ring’ which I held onto dearly.
It was as if the last ray of hope had vanished, dragging the entire world into perpetual darkness. A blazing ring of magnificently glowing white light appeared, rather hypnotizing. It was that moment that I felt defeated, as if the gloom and darkness had encompassed me, and for those couple minutes I was overcome by the forces of nature; I realised I was pushed into a shadow and suddenly all my doubts, dilemmas and worries cleared up.
Just as I could think clearly, the moon moved ahead and the sun’s rays stroked us, letting out its golden arms to comfort us and bring life to normal after the period of dull. Climbing down the stairs to my house, I understood that just as the moon and the sun have their roles in creating this spectacular visual, so does science, religion and culture to keep humans rooted, while assisting them in making progress as a race!