The Great Indian Eclipse?

News channels have started filling in the news about the brand new Solar Eclipse in town.

This eclipse occuring on July 22nd could have been the  “Great Indian Eclipse” – due to the long time of totality (longest in 21st century, with 6+ minutes of totality – although this may not happen in India), had it not occured in the month of July, and  at the specific time of the day  it occurs.

Solar Eclipse of 1999; Image from Wikipedia

(Image taken from here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Solar_eclips_1999_4_NR.jpg )

It is monsoon season in India now, and the weather gods may not co-operate with skywatchers. And the eclipse occurs at sunrise, so the Sun is pretty low in the horizon when totality starts.

But whoever can catch it, be it in India, or China, would have their chance of their life time.

“This eclipse is a bad omen” – ” 3 eclipses in one month happened during Mahabharat war”, “The last time this eclipse occured was 360 years ago”, Not good for …. blah blah blah”…. – there is quite a lot of negative publicity in Indian media already.

How much of  this could be  truel? Hard to seperate wheat from the chaff.

I am surprised at how easy it is for the media to fool people. Again and Again they have done it. So predictably. Last year they reported  how rare it was to see two eclipses in a row. This year they might talk about how rare it is to see 3 eclipses in a row!

Here are some eclipse fun facts  (not in any specific order)

• Eclipses repeat  in about every half-year (called eclipse seasons)
• Each eclpse season lasts for about 40 days. If the Sun and the Moon are in the right places around the nodes (rahu & ketu) , and more importantly, if you are at the right location you might see an eclipse
• There can be a maximum of 7 eclipses occuring in a calendar year, but that’s kind of rare
• In each eclipse season – one, two or three eclipses can occur – 2 solar and one lunar, or 2 lunar and one solar
• All eclipses in an eclipse season may not be visible from the same place on the earth, but it is not all that rare to see two eclipses in the same season at a place. For example, this seasons 3 eclipses can be seen from some parts of Indonesia. . (Two of the lunar eclipses in this season are penumbral, and so there is nothing to see, really – That’s another matter )

So if you get an e-mail telling how rare this eclipse triad occuring on July 7th, July 22nd and August 6th is – please hit delete, and do not forward it to anyone!

-neelanjana

ರಂಗನ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯ ರಾಮ

No!  This post is not about the famous story ರಂಗನ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯ ರಾಮ by Masti Venkatesha Ayyangar!  Masti is one of the finest short story writers Kannada has seen. May be I will talk about Masti some other time – but today, I will sing a totally different tune

Sometime ago, I was listening to a talk show on the radio, where Papanasam Ashok Ramani was talking about different composers from Tamizh Nadu.

Arunachala Kavi (Birth:1711AD), and his well-known  “En PallikonDIrayya”  was one of the compositions he spoke about.

Click here to listen to ‘yEn paLLikkonDeer ayya’ sung by N C Vasantakokilam  – On Sangeethapriya

Bird’s Eye View of Srirangam Temple (Courtesy: Google Maps)

Watch Neiveli Santhanagopalan singing  this composition:

Here is my translation (of the mOhana section) of the song in Kannada. My Tamizh vocabulary  is not in line for this  composition of 18th century, and so no wonder I had to take the help of the lyrics and meanings of this song posted on  www.karnatik.com to do this translation!

ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿದೆಯೋ ಶ್ರೀ ರಂಗನಾಥಾ
ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ? || ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ? ||

ಅರಳಿದ ಕಮಲದ ಕೊಳದ ಬದಿಯಲಿ
ಹರಿಯುವೆರಡು ಹೊಳೆಯ ನಡುವೆ ||ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ? ||

ಕೌಶಿಕನ ಆಣತಿಯನಾಲಿಸಿದಕೋ? ಕಡು
ರಾಕ್ಷಸಿಯ ಅಂಬಿನಲಿ ಕೊಂದುದಕೋ?
ಈಶನ ಬಿಲ್ಲನು ಮುರಿದುದಕೋ?
ಪರಶುರಾಮನ ಗರುವವನಳಿಸಿದಕೋ? || ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ? ||

ಜನಕ ಸುತೆಯೊಡನೆ ಕಾಡುದಾರಿಯ ಸವೆಸಿದಕೋ?
ದೋಷವಿರದ ಗುಹನೊಡನೆ ಗಂಗೆಯ ದಾಟಿದಕೋ?
ಚಿತ್ರಕೂಟ ಮಲೆಯಲಿ ನೆಲೆ ನಿಂದುದಕೋ? ಮಾರು
ವೇಷದ ಮಾರೀಚನ ಬೆನ್ನಟ್ಟಿದುದಕೋ? ||ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ? ||

ಮಡದಿಯ ಎಲ್ಲೆಡೆಯೂ ಹುಡುಕಿದಕೋ? ಏಳು
ಗಿಡಗಳನೊಂದೇ ಬಾಣದಿ ಬೀಳಿಸಿದುದಕೊ?
ಕಡಲಿಗೆ ಸೇತುವೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿ ದಾಟಿದುದಕೋ? ಲಂಕಾ
ಕೆಡಹಿ ಲಂಕೆಯ ರಾವಣನ ಸದೆಬಡಿದುದಕೋ? || ಏಕೆ ನೀ ಪವಡಿಸಿಹೆಯೋ ||

(The song is about Sri Ranganatha in Srirangam  and it could as well apply to Ranagatha at Sriranga pattana – Both temples are located on islands in river Kaveri)

The moment I set up translating ‘En paLLikondeerayya’, I could not help noticing  the striking similarity with a song of Purandara Dasa (Birth – 1485 AD).

Vitthala of Pandharpur

(Image taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Syayambhuvithoba.jpg)

This song ponders on why Vitthala in Pandarapur, on the banks of river Bheema,  is left standing with his hands on his waist. He wonders, if it is becuase he is too tired after playing with friends; Or tired running around homes of gopikas to steal butter at their homes or is it due to the fatigue after killing wicked demons. The list goes on.

Listen to Vidyabhushana sing kaTiyalli karaviTTanu:

ಕಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕರವಿಟ್ಟನೊ ಪಂಢರಿರಾಯ ಕಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕರವಿಟ್ಟನೊ ||ಪಲ್ಲವಿ||

ಗೊಲ್ಲ ಬಾಲಕರೊಡಗೂಡಿ ತಾ ಬಂದು
ಗೊಲ್ಲತಿಯರ ಮನೆ ಕದ್ದು ಬೆಣ್ಣೆಯ ತಿಂದು
ಬಲ್ಲಿದ ತೃಣಾವರ್ತ ಮೊದಲಾದ ಅಸುರರ
ಮೆಲ್ಲನೆ ಕೊಂದಾಯಾಸದಿಂದಲೋ ?

ಮುದದಿಂದ ವ್ರಜದ ಹದಿನಾರು ಸಾವಿರ
ಸುದತಿಯರಾಳಿದ ಮದದಿಂದಲೊ
ಮದಗಜಗಮನೆಯರ ಮದದಂತಕ ಕೃಷ್ಣ
ಒದಗಿ ಮಾವನ ಕೊಂದ ಆಯಾಸದಿಂದಲೊ?

ರಾಜಸೂಯಯಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಜೇಶ್ವರ
ರಾಜರು ಮೊದಲಾದ ಸುರರೆಲ್ಲರು
ಭೋಜನವನು ಮಾಡಿದೆಂಜಲು ಮೊದಲಾದ್ದು
ರಾಜೀವಾಕ್ಷನು ಎತ್ತಿದಾಯಾಸದಿಂದಲೋ ?

ಸುರಪ ತನಯಗೆ ಸಾರಥ್ಯವ ತಾ ಮಾಡಿ
ಭರದಿಂದ ಚಕ್ರವ ಹಿಡಿದುದರಿಂದಲೋ
ಪರಿಪರಿ ವಿಧದಿಂದ ಕುದುರೆಗಳ ತಾ ತೊಳೆದು
ಪರಿಪರಿ ಕೆಲಸದಿಂದಾಯಾಸದಿಂದಲೋ ?

ಪ್ರೇಮದಿಂದಲಿ ಬಂದ ಭಕ್ತರು ತನ್ನ ಚರಣ
ಕಮಲಯುಗ್ಮವ ಮುಟ್ಟಿ ಭಜಿಸುತಿರೆ
ಮಮತೆಯಿಂದಲಿ ಅವರ ಭವವ ಕಳೆವೆನೆಂದು
ಕಮಲನಾಭ ಶ್ರೀ ಪುರಂದರ ವಿಠಲನು ||

While Purandara dasa came in couple of centuries before Arunachala Kavi, here is another song which came in after Arunachala Kavi, but sharing the same theme.

Yes, I am refering to ‘ElAvatAramettitivo’  of  Tyagaraja (Birth- 1747 AD). In this composition, Tyagaraja wonders why Rama might have taken an incarnation, and took birth as a human.

Listen to Ariakudi Ramanuja I singing this composition on Music India Online:

Here is my attempt in translating  this song to Kannada:

ಏಕೆಂದವತಾರವನೆತ್ತಿದೆಯೋ?
ಏನದು ಕಾರಣವೋ? ರಾಮನೆಂ||ದೇಕವತಾರವನೆತ್ತಿದೆಯೋ?||

ಕಾಳಗವನು ಮಾಡಲಿಕೋ? ಅಯೋಧ್ಯಾ
ಪಾಲನವ ಮಾಡಲಿಕೋ? ರಾಘವ ನೀ ||ನೇತಕವತಾರವನೆತ್ತಿದೆಯೋ?||

ಯೋಗಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಕಾಣಿಸಲಿಕೋ? ಭವ
ರೋಗಗಳ ದೂಡಲಿಕೋ? ಶತ
ರಾಗ ರತ್ನ ಮಾಲಿಕೆಯ ರಚಿಸಿದ ತ್ಯಾಗ
ರಾಜನಿಗೆ ವರವೀಯಲಿಕೋ ನೀ || ನೇತಕವತಾರವನೆತ್ತಿದೆಯೋ?||

These three composers were separated in space, and time – but the commonality of the theme is definitely striking.

This post started off with a song on Ranga, and ended with a song on Rama – making the title quite apt What do you think?

-neelanjana

A Long Drive to Mt Hamilton

Exactly 25  miles long, that is. That is how far the summit of Mt Hamilton is from Downtown San Jose. But what makes this 25 miles really long is the change in elevation – from 85ft above sea level to 4209 ft above sea level.

I made this ‘long‘ trip couple of weeks ago. Sort of  funny, because Mt Hamilton and the domes on top are part of the horizon in my view every day for the last 10 years! So near, but so far! Here are some pictures from that drive.

The 4000+ ft change in elevation means there is no shortage of twists and turns and curves. The moment you go past one blind curve, you will face the next! Be ready for motion sickness!

Curves and Turns!

James Lick Observatory is located atop Mt Hamilton. This was the first mountaintop observatory ever built, around the end of 19th century.

An old picture of the observatory

When it was built, it had the world largest Refracting telescope (36″ inches) . This telescope  is still functioning, and being made good use of.

The 36 inch refractor

Now there are few more telescopes atop Mt Hamilton; A 120 inch reflector, a 36 inch reflector and a 100 inch Automatic Planet Finder -to name a few. These are a short walk away from the original observatory, but public access to these domes is limited.

Newer Domes

Mt Hamilton being one of the highest peaks around the south bay, there is an uninterrupted view in all directions.

The picture on the top of my blog page  with  a view of the Moon rising behind the observatory in Mt Hamilton is taken from – “Astronomy Picture of  the Day” ; courtesy NASA.

More information about Lick Observatory can be found here.

-neelanjana