Which Poet's imagination do we owe this miracle to...Bharat Vyas
Sunset in Sweden: 6 pm, April 2012
Sunrise reflected in a window:Bluff, Durban, South Africa, July 2012
Moonrise, Drakensberg Mountains, (Inkosana Lodge), South Africa
Moonrise, Drakensberg Mountains, (Inkosana Lodge), South Africa
There is hardly a culture that has not written about or sung praises of sunrise, talked about the longing one feels for ones beloved at the sunset or even under a moonlit night. But moonrise? Hardly.
Not many have talked about the 'rising moon'
The current Wes Andeson movie might popularize the term. However, when I was staying at the Inkosana Lodge, South Africa, --the first day the owner came at around 7 pm and said, 'if you guys want to watch the moonrise....'
I ran out. I have a craving for such phenomenon. During this time, knowing fully well, that waiting and viewing is much longer than the actual process --which sometimes lasts only a few seconds --I savor the waiting.
Savor the waiting, and then hold my breath.
Something we should do with so many of other aspects of life.
It was slightly chilly. I had my sweater on, and the owner of the lodge pointed towards the mountains that were pitch dark. Everyone was quiet. There were a few murmurs.
And then I screamed, 'Oh, oh, look, look...'
Everyone looked at me.
I was embarrassed. But I tend to get really excited about these things. I had never seen a moon rise.
A few days later, I realized, my excitement also might have been due to my stature--I was the shortest and therefore the last one to spot the moon....
Picture this, pitch dark night, trees have blended into the mountains, mountains into the sky, no line, no boundary, no edge is visible. Just a faint light from this lodge, that the owner goes and turns off. There is no sound of crickets, for it is too cold. There is that lull --the depth under the silence. Something that the meditation chant 'OM' tries to manifest.
'MMMMMMMMMMM....'
You breath is so slow, you are not sure you are breathing. The body, although standing upright, is calm. The heart center is at rest. And there you spot, a tiny shapeless dot in red. Within less than a few minutes that red spot turns into a red, copper colored ball, and as it rises it transforms into a silver ball.
You feel transformed. It is like watching a sunrise, only in the dark (check it out by clicking here).
The song that comes to mind, although it is more about nature rather than moon (from Bollywood is) Yeh Kaun Chitrakaar Hai--from a 60s movie, Boon Jo Ban Gayi Moti (A drop that became a Pearl). The song, was written by Bharat Vyas, who also wrote many other memorable songs for Bollywood, including all time favorite prayer 'Ae Malik Tere Bande Hum' (O' Lord, we are yours)
Yeh Kaun Chitrakaar hai (Who is the Artist?)
hari hari vasundhara
Pe neela neela yeh gagan
blue sky above green earth
yeh jiske badalon ki palaki
uda raha pawan
Whose palanquin of clouds
is held/carried by the breeze
dishainyein rang bhari
chamak rahi umang bhari
color in all directions
sprouts hope
yeh kisne phool phool pe
kiya singhar hai
who decorated
each flower?
Yeh Kaun Chitra kaar hai
who is the artist here?
---
Yeh Kis Kavi ki Kalpana
ka Chamatkaar Hai
Which Poet's imagination do we owe this miracle to...
Yeh Kaun Chitrakaar hai
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