The Eclipsed Face!

"Don't go out...U will have to take bath then.."Amma shouted behind me... My father who never adhered much in God/Myth somehow had some of these myths refraining him back...he said "there are scientific reasons for that dear...Sun emits harmful radiation during Eclipse and normally its better to stay under roof...But if u really want to see the Sun..here !! take this welding goggles and look through...don't look at the Sun without them...u will have ur eyes burned or have to go for specs..." I never have seen an eclipse without a welding glass or a tinted one...but I do wear spectacles.. and I wore them a few days after the 1995 eclipse...thereafter, I somehow counted on the fact and asked Dad more about the myths on Eclipse...I cherished to hear myths...and dad was an exceptional narrator...

He said "The earliest Indian myth on solar eclipse is found in the "Rig Veda".Rahu, one of the most notorious demons of the Hindu myth is the curse. Myth has it that Vishnu, churned the oceans to usher in peace. This ended with a bitter war between the Gods and the demons. Dhanvantri, the fountain head of medicine,emerged with nectar from the Ocean. It was hard for the demons to let go of the Nectar.Vishnu managed to get it across to the Gods, but Rahu, disguised himself as a God and tried to get some nectar for himself.The sun and the moon saw this happening and informed Vishnu, who immediately chopped off Rahu's head. Rahu lived on... though body less, because he had managed a little nectar. But he never forgave the sun or the moon and periodically ate either one up..."

Both of us laughed at the end of the story..Dad told me...In olden days people never went out. Women and children remained inside the heavily curtained rooms,food would be neither eaten nor cooked. Many believed that when the rays of the sun don't touch the earth, the number of germs increase. All food cooked before the eclipse was, therefore, thrown away and people immersed themselves in water up to the neck in an act of cleansing. They believed that a simultaneous act of worship would help the sun fight the beast of the demon called the Rahu. He also explained me the scientific factors that could be the reason behind the superstitions....I did think he was true...

Despite the awareness of the true nature of this natural phenomenon in contemporary living, many people continue to beat drums, pots and pans or fire guns into the air or simply hide indoors. The event has been associated with calamities ranging from wars, floods and famines to political upheavals and personal misfortunes. Again there is a coincidence with the war of Kurukshetra and Solar eclipse we all know... Some say Kurukshetra war was preceded by a triple eclipse. We don’t know whether there really was a Kurukshetra war and if at all it took place. Whatever be it , the facts that human have build around this wonderful and natural phenomenon is really vast!! Across the Globe...we have multifarious delusion's people believe in..for some, its luck...for some, its romance and for yet others, its misfortune...

And for me its the bifocals on my nosebridge which aids me with my day to day life and which has become an cardinal part of my eclipsed face ;)..

"It's only during an eclipse that the Man in the moon has a place in the Sun"