Introduction
The novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier has this famous opening line, “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” For Vilasini and me too, being in Berkeley with our daughter Rohini, son-in-law Vijesh and their sons Sid and Arinjay after seven long years has a dream-like quality. We flew to SFO by Air India’s direct flight from BLR on 29th and were at their new renovated home by 8 PM. After unpacking and dinner, we slept well. I woke up for a bio-break at about 3 AM only to espy a lovely half-moon shimmering in the clear dark sky beyond the bedroom window. After that sight and the flood of memories it brought back, I could not go back to sleep. A little later, I nudged Vilasini awake and made her join me at the window to admire the moon. Over the next thirty hours, I have put together the memories in this blog.
Father Elias D’Souza
I completed my PUC and BSc at St. Joseph’s College (SJC) Bangalore during 1961-65. Father D’Souza (FD) was our principal during this period. He was part of the faculty of Mathematics and taught us Astronomy. SJC was then the only institution with an observatory and a fairly powerful telescope. For the record, Indian Institute of Astrophysics came up only in 1971. FD taught us not only the theory and maths behind astronomy but also encouraged us to observe celestial phenomenon by providing us regulated access to the telescope. I recall a major conjunction of many planets in 1963 or so, which we were able to see through the telescope just after sunset one evening. From being mere students of astronomy, he made many of us amateur astronomers. We began to follow the Night Sky map/column in The Hindu on the first of every month. We could identify many planets, stars and constellations.
Waxing/Waning Phases of the Moon
Apart from the mighty celestial bodies, we also studied the more proximate moon. FD taught us the mathematics of how to calculate the phase of the moon from the time and its location in the sky and vice versa. He taught us the distinction between the waxing and waning moon. In the former phase, after the New Moon, the moon is seen in the evening sky after sunset first as a thin crescent and then as a quarter, half and full moon in a fortnightly cycle. The reverse happens in the next phase as the moon wanes from full to half, quarter and crescent towards the next New Moon. As the moon was up in the eastern sky a few hours before dawn, I knew that what I saw was the waning moon. Such was the power of FD teaching and illustration through numerous examples.
Light-Hearted Banter
Lest you think that all this esoteric stuff engaged only a few students, let me hasten to add that a number of my classmates found the idiosyncrasies of FD very amusing and poked fun at him. Whenever he had to convey that a celestial body was easily visible, FD would say that it could be seen through the ‘unaided’ eye! He never used the phrase ‘naked eye’. We could not figure out if that was due to some oath that he had taken as a Jesuit priest or his own personal sense of modesty or prudishness. Naughty students would deliberately use ‘naked eye’ during discussions to provoke him but he would good-naturedly stick to his ‘unaided eye’!
Why Manderley?
Along with astronomy, Daphne du Maurier was a writer I discovered and enjoyed during my BSc days. Rebecca apart, I had read her Jamaica Inn, Hungry Hill and My Cousin Rachel. Like Dickens’ immortal ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…,’ from Tale of Two Cities, the opening line of Rebecca had stuck in my mind. Why did I think of Manderley last night? Was it the dream-like experience of sighting the half-moon in the wee hours of the morning at Berkeley? Was it the serendipitous ‘ley’ ending of the two words? Frankly, I do not know.
Why did I suddenly recall the theory and practice of astronomy as taught by FD during my under-graduate days sixty years ago? As I age, I am continuously amazed by how, in recollection, our minds link events and experiences. In literary criticism, such narration, I believe is referred to as ‘stream of consciousness’. If literature students among readers of this blog agree with that, I can only inform them that it has happened unconsciously!
Viewing Advice
I am publishing this blog on 31st May. 6th June will be the next New Moon. So, for the next three to four days at least, those interested and lucky enough to have a clear sky in their area, can see the crescent of the waning moon in the south-east corner of the sky at dawn and even an hour or two after sunrise. For intrepid husbands, I have a special request. Please do not set the alarm for 4 AM and ask your wife to make you coffee before you step out of your home for moon-sighting. Even if you do, please do not insist on them joining you to enjoy the spectacle! You have been warned!
S. Krishna Kumar
31st May 2024
Berkeley
Blog # 95
Talk the Walk 