i was feeding chang the last bits of his shukto when deepa (the nanny transformed into the housekeeper) came running in to tell selvi (the nanny who was still a nanny) that she better remove the clothes from the balconies as it was about to rain. i did feel a sudden dip in temperature and the sky did look overcast. all of us fell to the task at hand aided by the little terrorist in tow.
that is when i realised the sky wasn't overcast at all. there was sunlight reflected on the walls of paramjeet's spectacular house opposite ours. but the colour was a strange orange. the sunlight had lost its rich hue and strength like the old colonel who stayed next door. it was eclipse time!
what followed was a kid's lesson on eclipse, which selvi understood better than chang. well, i tried you know, and they say it is all being absorbed by the 1 1/2 year old sponge and will come out of the dormant volcano some day.
the clothes were left alone and i tried getting the best view of the hidden sun from all our balconies after dumping chang in selvi's able hands. of course, i couldn't see it anywhere. so armed with orko's abandoned spectacles (will you believe me if i tell you i do not own a pair of sunglasses?) i rushed upstairs to mrs kapoor, our landlady's landing.
the sun was shining brightly between the leaves of the gulmohar and there was not a dot of black anywhere on it. disappointing eh? wish i was in kanyakumari. BUT, but, the birds and squirrels were unnaturally quiet. the chill prevailed and so did the orange light. and gomti (my maid, philosopher and guide) left the house instructing me to douse chang with water mixed with turmeric once the evil eclipse had left our sight.
4 comments:
I happened to see it with the very same glasses that these women have. Feeling quite thrilled about it.
so were you in kanyakumari? :-)
he he :)
Oh, it was indeed a fascinating experience. Armed with the eclipse glasses that my genial colleague got for all of us, we flocked to the terrace, waiting anxiously for our turns to witness something that most of us have never seen before.
And finally it was my turn. With the glasses on, brimming with excitement, when I glanced at the sun for the first time, felt like it was a shiny biscuit bitten off by someone. It was like a night of half moon at 12 noon.
Even if I wasn’t lucky enough to see the perfect ring of fire, what I saw left me quite mesmerised. Hopefully would be lucky enough to see the moon kissing the sun completely next time;-)
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