NEWS

India’s next solar date after 105 yrs

VARANASI: Watchers, many of them gathered here from across the globe, were awe-struck by the eclipse. ''Wow,'' exclaimed Anindya, who is part of an amateur astronomers association in Delhi, when asked for a reaction. Mayank, another member of the group, asked back, ''You want words?'' 

Then, just after the total phase ended at 6.27am, another bright diamond ring dazzled in the sky, this one more mesmerizing than the previous. Then began the slow march of the Moon away from the Sun's path, as thousands of dazed watchers tried to come to terms with the breathtaking show they had witnessed. The fact that such a spectacle would not visit India in another 105 years just added to the momentousness of the occasion. 

Yet, at the beginning of the eclipse, it looked as if monsoon clouds would spoil the day for everyone. While the skies were clear at dawn, thick patches of clouds drifting in with the stiff breeze, blotting out the Sun just when the eclipse began. But the breeze soon blew away the obstacles, and by the time totality arrived, the clouds were incidental to the show. 

Meanwhile, the devout had been streaming into Varanasi's ghats much before sunrise for the ritual dip in the river during the eclipse. Many of them chanted Sita Ram, Sita Ram, as they made their way through the sea of humanity for the purifying Ganga bath to cleanse themselves of the ill-effects of the 'grahan'. The ranks of bathers swelled as the eclipse progressed.