HOW I BECOME A NIGHT SKY LOVER
MY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
For me, people who look at the sky and love the universe and the stars tend to be big-hearted human beings. They understand the vastness of the universe and the limits of our own existence, and as a result, they are free from greed and jealousy, becoming more human. We should all teach our children to look up at the sky and give them the chance to be close to the creator. From history, we can see that old civilizations that studied the stars became more knowledgeable and developed advanced thinking processes over time. The knowledge of the infinite universe can make our future generations more humane, free from jealousy and greed.
Apart from my basic understanding of science and technology, I’ve always been fascinated by the stars and the universe. I can say I’m a lover of all things alien. This love for the night sky began in my childhood, when I was around three or four years old.
I was born in a beautiful village in Assam. Our village was known for its traditional thatched bamboo houses, and a rectangular thatched house in our compound still fills me with nostalgia and beauty. Despite the economic challenges, people were happy living close to nature. A wide courtyard surrounded by thatched bamboo houses, a cattle shed, and a BHARAL GHAR (a type of storehouse for rice seeds) was the typical signature of an Assamese family. Around 95% of the people were farmers, and back then, most were uneducated. If someone had graduated from college, they were highly admired in our village. My father was one such admired figure, as he was a teacher in a government school.
In the evenings, my grandmother would spread a DHARI (a special bamboo carpet) in the middle of the open courtyard, where I would lie down and listen to her captivating storytelling. The evenings were magical, with the whole night sky full of twinkling stars. I would immerse myself in wonder, asking thousands of questions to myself and my grandmother about those beautiful twinkling stars. It was during this time that my unconscious mind developed a deep love and affection for the night sky and all its stars.
In Assam, our beloved festival is BIHU. We celebrate three Bihus. BOHAG BIHU marks the beginning of the spring season and is the most loved Bihu among the three. People celebrate this festival by sharing love and joy. Bihu songs, mostly related to love between young couples, and Bihu dances are the highlights of this festival. The whole state is immersed in joy and happiness, celebrating this most beloved festival as spring brings a new and lively atmosphere to our green village.
Our second most loved Bihu is Bhogali Bihu. Since farming or agriculture is one of the primary occupations in Assam, people highly respect and worship Mother Nature and the earth for providing whatever is harvested. Magh Bihu or Maghor Bihu symbolizes the end of the harvesting season, and people enjoy feasting on various kinds of food items and snacks like til pitha, tekeli pitha, narikol (coconut) pitha, sunga pitha, ghila pitha, puffed rice, laddoo, etc., prepared by the women. They also enjoy bonfires gathered together. This Bihu is also known for showing respect and gratitude to the elders and giving love and blessings to the young people.
Lastly, we celebrate KATI BIHU or KANGALI BIHU, which is the least popular among the three. This Bihu signifies the relocation of the rice crop, an important stage in the paddy crop’s life cycle. To ward off evil spirits and pests, farmers burn candles at the foot of the Tulasi(Basil) plant at home, whirl a piece of bamboo in the fields. This day is considered auspicious because it is believed that the spirits of the ancestors will visit to bestow blessings. Therefore, Assamese peasants burn AKASHBONTI lamps on top of bamboo trees to guide these spirits to heaven.
I’m mentioning all this about Bihu because, although KANGALI BIHU is the least popular among the three, I have loved KANGALI BIHU the most since childhood for a special reason. The reason for this love toward this Bihu is deeply connected to my love for the night sky.
The reason is “AKASHBONTI,” a special lamp placed on top of a bamboo tree, which felt like stars had come down to earth for me. I fell in love with those lights, and this memory is one of the most beautiful of my childhood.
When winter comes, mainly in December, theaters used to come to our village. The shows were held on the village playground, which was about a 20-minute walk from our house. The show started at night, around 8 to 9 p.m., after people had finished their dinners and returned home tired from working in the fields. The theater show created a festive environment all around. Since my father was a government teacher, we got VIP tickets every year. I eagerly waited for those three days all year long, and I can still remember them vividly.
The theater was not the only reason for my excitement. The hidden reason behind my excitement was the third reason I fell in love with the stars, and it is the closest to my heart. How beautiful the nights were!
I was four or five years old, and our village roads were narrow, lined with trees and grasslands all around. Greenery was the uniqueness you can’t find nowadays. So, my mother, father, siblings, and I would walk through the narrow village road to enjoy the theater at night. On the way back home, the most exciting show happened all over the road. Thousands of fireflies danced all around us on our way back home. It was like living in a different world. I can still feel the moment. My little brain imagined the fireflies dancing like all the stars had come down to earth for me, and I felt like I was living in a dream. I still remember skipping and jumping with those thousands of fireflies all the way back home. The scenery was like being in the middle of the Milky Way galaxy.
This experience was the most significant reason I developed a strong love affair with the night sky. I still imagine and hope that those firefly nights will come back to me again, and I can relive the most beautiful memory of my childhood.
My one-sided love affair with the night sky and the stars became a romantic story in the most interesting way.
When I was in primary school, our teachers would plan a holiday where all the students had the thrilling chance to visit the city of Guwahati. We got the chance to visit the state museum, science museum, children’s park, the stadium, and lastly, the planetarium.
Although everyone liked the park the most, I loved the planetarium the most because that’s where my romance with the stars began. Luckily, we got to see a show about our universe and the stars, and the stories behind them took me to another world and pushed my thoughts beyond boundaries. I was quite surprised at how our ancestors looked up at the stars and came up with those stories. This was the fourth reason I have been a night sky lover and a star watcher.
