For years I was accustomed to enjoy the marvels of the
Night Sky filled with countless Stars; for hours before going to bed and at
dawn, especially during summers. This was long back when we were in a small
town, Kothagudem. During summers some of my cousins and other relatives loved
to visit us and spend their summer vacation with us in our palatial ‘Company
Bungalow’ full of trees and ample space to play a variety of games. In the
nights we children preferred to sleep outside the house amidst trees and their
dancing branches, enjoying natural pleasant breeze and gazing at the Moon and
the countless Stars. We had 10 or more Cots called Navara Manchaalu which used
to be assembled in summer to facilitate us to sleep in the open. We woke up at
dawn to the chirping and flutter of flocks of Parrots and Mynah birds on our
trees. And at this time we found the twinkling of the Stars much brighter,
before Sunlight wiped them out. As I grew up, this lovely pastime led me to buy
two books on understanding Stars and Constellations, which thrilled me.
And here in Hyderabad, buildings around our house obstruct
and expose us only to the sky just above us, with no Stars, just the Moon
occasionally. And even if we move into the open, there are hardly any Stars to
see, at the most 5 to 10. Normally during our morning walk we get to see 1 or 2
Stars just because they are the brightest. This scenario is manmade due to Light
Pollution and smog.
Today to enjoy the night sky with countless Stars we have
to move several kilometres away from our City to remote areas or tourist spots
without Light Pollution or go to Birla Planetarium!
(Located 6 kilometres from our house).
You may please watch these two Music Videos to enjoy the
fascinating night Sky:
great pics!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
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