An enchanting eclipse...

There are certain opportunities in life that come only once and if you are able to make use of those you are rewarded handsomely. It just needs that extra step and the prize is all yours to cherish. One such opportunity popped up last week and I was lucky to have grabbed it. Few months back I read about the forthcoming Annular Solar Eclipse on January 15th and I was rather overjoyed. I have fond memories of the total solar eclipse I witnessed while I was in school way back in 1995. It was an experience of a lifetime and to this day occupies a very special place in my memory. That Diamond Ring and the untimely night at 9AM on a cold October morning at Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal are simply unforgettable. Since then, I have always felt an uncanny attraction to any such celestial event and made it a point to witness those if it were within my bounds. And I had my rewards too! In the last 15 years I saw a partial solar eclipse, the Hell-Bopp comet and the transit of Venus across the Sun in 2004. All these were one of their kinds and would take ages to repeat and not atleast in my lifetime!
    
I always wanted to witness the Annular Solar Eclipse as it’s a very rare celestial phenomenon. Moreover, everything needs to be in place for one to witness such an occurrence. It takes a lot to be on the right place at the right hour and with the right weather conditions for the viewing to be successful. And this time all seemed to be perfect! It was winter so there's less chance of clouds obstructing the view; moreover the ASE 2010 was to last for over 10 minutes and would be visible from a wide stretch of land mass in South India.
I was indeed lucky to have got a seat in the bus from Bangalore to Nagercoil on 14th Jan. Being the next day to Pongal, it was indeed very difficult to get a seat but as they say if you are to get it you will get it, come what may! It was for sure that I would not get any accommodation in Kanyakumari to stay overnight so I even booked the return ticket by the same bus on 15th evening. Earlier I had been to Kanyakumari and visited the Vivekananda Rock so I was rather focused on the eclipse.

On 14^th my friend Sharmila, invited me to her place. Though we are in Bangalore, we hardly get to meet. Our friend Sumon was also to join us. He was on official trip for few weeks and we all decided to meet up. Being college friends there’s always a lot to chat and that indeed needs time. Now, a footloose that I am I could not help tell her that I had to start early by 3 in the afternoon post lunch. That was something too much to ask I agree but I just could not do away with the eclipse too! But my friends are really cool and they didn’t mind. They rather shared my enthusiasm and I got some much needed initial tips on using the camera from Sharmila’s better-half, Samrat. Samrat is an avid photographer and loves travelling too. Sharmila and Samrat are a wonderful pair and they compliment each other's passion for travelling, reading, photography, music and cuisine. Samrat did mesmerize us with his exotic macros on butterflies, birds, flowers besides the wonderful landscapes. His recent collage on Himalayas is absolutely breathtaking! Do enjoy his extensive captures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/putus/

Sharmila cooked well and after a sumptuous lunch I had to bid them goodbye. I was on time at Madiwala armed with my spanking new Nikon D3000, all set to make the journey. And what do I see? My former professor from BSc days is also boarding the same bus! Dr. Pradip Acharya is an erstwhile post-doctoral fellow of IISc. He presently researches on plant proteomics using mass spectrometry at the Institute of Bioinformatics in Bangalore. An expert in Analytical Chemistry, he is a very inquisitive man beyond his laboratory too. It is this scientific fervour that has brought him to make the trip. I was rather overjoyed to see such a worthy companion for the journey!

Very soon our bus took off and gained speed on NH7. Sir was discussing about his present area of research and other recent happenings in the field of Biochemistry. Though I had last thought of a single Benzene ring almost 9 years back when I was in college, it was very fascinating to listen to him. Our talks revolved around the eclipse and I shared my experience of 1995 with him. The national highway past Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu offers a dream ride and kudos to NHAI for the superb job.

We were to reach Nagercoil at 6AM. I never get to sleep while travelling by bus and this time it was even more difficult as I was too excited about the next morning. En-route, the bus halted twice, once for dinner and then for refreshments at around 2 in the morning. The steaming hot tea, the cool night breeze coupled with an eerie silence occasionally shattered by passing lorries and long-distance buses was a complete picture in itself. The twinkling stars and dim lights on the hillocks around the roadside shanty beckoned many a traveller to halt and sip over some hot tea and then move ahead.

Surprisingly, we reached Nagercoil at 4:30 in the morning, thanks to the smooth ride on national highway. It was dark but the bus stand was bustling with passengers. I could spot many an enthusiast from their cameras and luggage, all headed to Kanyakumari. We managed to board an overcrowded local bus. Kanyakumari is around 20km from the district town. Our co-passengers were mostly local fishermen and travellers out on a pilgrimage to the holy temple at Suchindram midway to Kanyakumari besides the eclipse enthusiasts.

 
In about 45 minutes we reached Kanyakumari and the bus almost got empty. It was an unbelievable site out there! Wherever I looked I could see people! Even at 5 in the morning the entire place was packed like a busy evening market. Men in black, on their way from the holy shrine of Sabarimala came in scores. It was the Pongal and the eclipse further added to the cause.

Up North, the Kumbh Mela was on at Haridwar in Uttarakhand and it appeared as if there was a mini version on at Kanyakumari too! Our stars were indeed favourable I must say that we were able to manage a room for couple of hours in a hotel near the Kanyakumari temple. A quick bath to ward-off all that tiredness from the bus journey and we set out for the sea-shore.
   

The eclipse was to start after 11o'clock so we had time till then. Unfortunately, I missed out on a pair of goggles so I ventured out in search of one. By the time we were at the sea-side the sun had risen and the golden hue over the unending expanse of the ocean looked beautiful. I could not help but stand still to savour the spectacle. It was simply fabulous! Quickly I got to act and captured as many snaps as possible. An amateur and novice that I am with the SLR, yet I tried my best to use the controls! Just off the shore there is a man-made barricade of huge boulders jutting into the sea for almost a kilometre. You can walk over it and reach the tip to view the ocean up and close. The wind at the tip was enough to blow my cap away and I had much difficulty to hold the camera steady! But it was enchanting! 

Back to the shore and I started looking for the official venue to watch the eclipse. In no time, I spotted it too! Near the Kerala government’s guest house there is a PWD guest house of Tamil Nadu government. A bright hoarding invited us at the entrance. Inside, I could see few amateur skywatcher groups busy unpacking their telescopes and giant screens. I walked up to them and they were very welcoming too. They had come all the way from Maharashtra. One of the team members told me that others were also on the way and it would be indeed a grand affair! We decided to park there for sometime and observe them at work. I too took a sneak peek into their telescopes and my, how powerful they are! 

The clock gradually ticked 10 and I suddenly saw a large group of school students approaching the venue. Great! That's how it should be! More the children watch such wonderful things, more they would be able to appreciate the nature's beauty. Such occasions are the best to implant seeds of inquisitiveness in young minds. In a country shrouded by superstition even in this 21st century, this is immensely important I think. Anyway, back to the saga, I saw group after group of school children, college students, and amateur photographers pouring in. In no time, our national broadcaster Doordarshan also turned up with a gigantic OB van. The Govt. of Tamil Nadu indeed did a good job about spreading awareness on the event. They even organised camps for the visiting skywatcher groups. I could see groups from Maharastra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal walking in and setting up their equipments. There were even people from Japan, US, UK and Indonesia eagerly waiting for the eclipse to occur. 
 

The backdrop was set, everybody ready with their goggles and telescopes, all set to enjoy the celestial wonder. The clock struck 11:15AM and the camp co-ordinator announced that the moon had made the first contact. There was a loud cheer and everybody was elated. I repented forgetting my solar filters once again. Anyway, I decided to photograph the reflection.

I was sitting with one of the school groups from Nanded, Maharashtra and they had made a simple yet wonderful arrangement to follow the eclipse. Using a tiny mirror they were casting the sun's reflection on a white sheet of paper at a distance. You could follow the entire movement of the moon and look up to see it yourself whenever you wished! It was part of their excursion activity and they were simply enjoying it. It was great to be with the young crowd and their occasional hi5s and hip-hip hoorays just added to the fun. They were very ecstatic, as many of them had come that far from home for the first time.

The feast continued and with every passing minute the sun got covered inch by inch. Gradually, the sun rays weakened and we could feel that there was no warmth in them! The sun rays bore a pale yellow colour, similar to the face of an ailing jaundice patient! As we neared the annularity, there were marked changes in the weather and it impacted the surroundings too! We could see flocks of bird returning to their nests as if it was dusk and time to return home! The ocean too became calm and the water level rose to submerge the rocks near the shore. The co-ordinator announced that there was a significant drop in temperature too and the scientists were recording the data for further analysis.

Sharp at 1:14PM, the moon was exactly at the centre of the sun and we could see the annularity clearly. There was a huge cheer from the crowd. Everybody was awestruck! With the unending expanse of the ocean as backdrop, it was a sublime spectacle on a clear day. Though there were clouds around but they did not play spoilsport. The annularity lasted for little over 9 minutes. But those 9 minutes were indescribable! You must watch it to feel it! As the sun was behind the shadow we enjoyed the sight without the goggles.

I was a little disheartened as I was not able to snap the occasion, but it occurred to me that may be the best way to immortalize it was to preserve an everlasting imprint of the heavenly sight in my heart, afterall your snaps may betray you but your memory won't! It would be there with you forever and I am sure all of you would agree too!

    On the personal front, with the ASE 2010, I did attain a feat, if I may call it so, as I completed viewing all the three eclipses of the sun, a total, a partial and now the rare annular eclipse. So, whatever we read about the solar eclipses in our school books are with me now..... and that’s an achievement indeed! What say?