Privileged

For a change during the last week, the papers have been showcasing or discussing celestial bodies. This was indeed most welcome from the regular politics of bickering and show man ship. The two celestial bodies in question were the ones well known to us humans and hence it made sense to read about the same. One was about Earth’s only satellite the Moon and the other also involved the Moon along with the life giver the Sun. The events in question were the 40th Anniversary of the Landing on the Moon by the American Astronauts and the second the Total Solar Eclipse the longest in almost two centuries. The first event to us Indians was on the 21st of July and the second on the 22nd of July. Although we had no role in the first original happening, being an event of great importance, we considered it only fit to celebrate it with the rest of mankind. The second event, for reasons heavenly, had India as its epicenter and thus called for immense hype and excitement.
The Moon, being the closest to the Earth, always seemed to the astronomers to be in their back yard, and the need to conquer or go to it has always been a quest. Although it was the Russians who first started sending rockets to outer space with the idea of reaching the Moon, it was the Americans who could first set their foot on the Moon and thus officially conquer it. It was indeed a trophy of the greatest magnitude to all the physicists and astronomers and to the people of America. I was 12 and studying in the eighth grade when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and Neil Armstrong proclaimed “This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind “. The date was the 20th of July 1969 in the US, but here in India it was the 21st of July 1969. As a young girl, I was not in the know of J.F. Kennedy’s speech about putting man on the moon before the end of the decade or of the various moon missions launched by the US and the erstwhile USSR. The papers I vaguely remember carried front page news for sometime prior to the actual touch down. With no TV, computer or internet, most of us were in the dark of the progress of the mission. We were too young to be tuned into the Voice of America or the BBC which I know had a live commentary. For us young girls the interests were of the other earthly happenings. I remember vividly being excited at that point about the forthcoming marriage of my aunt in Kerala and our impending trip for a week. The excitement was more as we were to miss a week of school.
The reason I can go back in time and remember that day has got to do with two of my friends. 21st July is the birthday of my close friend Sarah and hence a day I would remember all my life. That was the time in our lives when friendships were blooming and it meant the ultimate to greet a friend on her birthday. Thus even in my sleep I could rattle of the date as it was so deeply etched in my mind. The second reason has got to do with my friend Ashwathi. Ashwathi, is one person whom we all considered a brain box. I could write so much about her intelligence, but now will restrict myself to the topic on hand. She was no ordinary youngster and thus on that specific day had brought to school a transistor radio to keep track of the happenings. As she was aware of the approximate time of the day when the EVENT would occur, she tuned into her transistor and began stealthily listening to the commentary. When the rest of us came to know as to what she was up to, we requested the teacher to allow us to listen. Thus I must say that although I did not get a visual update of the event, I was privy to the happening. Little did I realize the importance of the event? Now when I think back, I am sure I may belong to the less than 1% of the Indian population that was privileged to do so. Later on the school did get us the documentary from the USIS and all of us got to watch it. The Government New Reels that were shown in theatres also beamed this event for a long time.
As I advanced in age, the relevance of the mission began to dawn. I also began to appreciate the perseverance and hard work put in by a group of people to achieve this spectacular event. I started to closely follow the Apollo, Columbia and the other missions executed by NASA. As a result of this interest, I felt it was my duty to pay my respect to these pioneers. I began to consider myself as being lucky to have lived in the period when an event of this magnitude happened. On my first visit to Washington DC, I made sure that I went to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and even got to touch a piece of rock brought by the Astronauts of the Apollo 11. I was enthralled to see command module of the Apollo 11 resting in this out of the world museum which is also home to the Wright Flyer and other pieces of history. My next tribute to the Moon mission was when I visited Cape Canaveral and got to see the various spacecrafts exhibited in the museum. Thus as an interested citizen of the world and also as one privileged, I have visited the Meccas of Space Travel and Technology.
One thing I wonder about is to whether that half of humanity born after the 21st of July 1969, will ever have anything of this magnitude to witness and talk about. There is talk of conquering the Mars, but then only time will tell. However what I am most curious to know is as to how Ashwathi spent the Ruby Anniversary of this great event. After all it was she who got a few of us to even think in this direction. I know she lives in Salem, Tamil Nadu, maybe I should take the effort to trace her. If by hard work and perseverance man could reach the moon, it shouldn’t be so difficult for me to find Ashwathi who is just 361kms away.