Starry encounter

The night sky was brilliant on that new moon at Kodachadri. Leaning back on our lounge chairs, we gazed at the celestial bodies. The Orion constellation, the North Star, Mars, and Venus—everything here was brighter than in Bengaluru’s sky. The stars were in abundance. We even caught some meteors hurtling across.

The enthusiastic and knowledgeable stargazers among our small group made the experience even more interesting. They pointed to the man-made satellites traversing the sky. We were shown the glowing Sirius, the dog star. We were thrilled to learn that a smoky shape in the sky was, in fact, a nebula. They painstakingly set up the small telescope, through which we could see the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter. Opening the stargazing app on the phone seemed like a rude thing to do here. The beauty of this place was the absence of light pollution. The resort obligingly switched off all the lights so we could enjoy the spectacle in its full glory. The chill of the night was no deterrent. The conversation slowly veered towards light years, distant galaxies, probable life in outer space, and our insignificance in the light of the cosmic sight above us. The resort manager, who was hanging back until then, gently interjected, “A group of scientists regularly comes here to conduct some experiments. They go to the lake nearby and study the stars all night with their instruments.”

As our luck would have it, the scientists were returning that night for dinner. We were introduced to Somashekar and Girish, two unassuming men who were part of the team that had made a significant contribution in the field of astronomy. “Our chief scientist, whose paper was published in Nature Astronomy, will be joining us soon. His research is widely regarded in scientific circles. You can talk to him too,” they said.

To see such open appreciation and acknowledgement in the highly competitive world of science was heartening. The duo went on to answer our very basic questions patiently. Then came the young, bespectacled Saurabh Singh, clad in jeans. With his ready smile and unassuming manner, he talked about the indigenously built telescope they were using and his team’s work studying the early stars. Pointed questions from the scientist in our group were answered with such charm that the rest of us, despite not understanding the esoteric concepts, hung on to his every word. “Aah! He is a rock star in his field,” said my friend. “Even though his sights are set in the sky, his feet are firmly on the ground,” added another admiringly.

We returned to Bengaluru basking in the warm glow of the stars—both celestial and human.