Lunar eclipse fails to hamper New Year revelry plans

By Nabeel A. Khan and Ankur Tewari

New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) The lunar eclipse that will start within minutes of the ushering in of 2010 may matter a lot to astrologers but is unlikely to affect plans of revellers who have booked pubs, lounges and restaurants in advance to party through the night.

"There is no effect of lunar eclipse on this New Year celebrations. We have already booked 50 percent of our seats at our branches," Sanjeev Anand, general manager of the bar BUZZ, told IANS.

"I think most people are not even aware of the lunar eclipse falling on this New Year's Eve. And of those who know, few are caring about it," he said.

For aspiring model Abhishek Kumar Jha, the lunar eclipse is of no importance. When informed about the eclipse falling on this date after a century, Jha said: "Oh, what difference does that make?"

He is planning to go to his favourite destination Goa to see in the new year, and has made his bookings in advance.

"We are a gang of 12 friends and we have booked our tickets and made every arrangement in Goa. On Dec 31 morning, we will leave for our destination and have a blast there. This is the time I wait for the whole year," an excited Jha said.

But astrologers do take the eclipse seriously.

"This new year the eclipse will play spoilsport. People will have to be careful and not view the eclipse through naked eyes directly between 12.22 a.m. and 1.24 a.m., the period when the event takes place," said astrologer Vinay Kumar Dubey, who has his office in Old Delhi's Pul Bangash area.

He forecast the eclipse will have an adverse effect on the eastern parts of India, including eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Orissa, "in the form of violence, terrorism, dacoity and several incidents of fire".

In view of the eclipse, many Hindu temples across the capital will shut their doors early on Dec 31.

Parts of Hindu mythology say a lunar eclipse generates negative energy.

The Nav Grah temple in busy Chandni Chowk will close its gates at noon on Dec 31 and will reopen only at 8 a.m. on Jan 1.

"During the eclipse, we will keep tulsi (basil) leaves, holy water from the Ganga, kusha (grass) and rudraksha inside the sanctum as a shield. After the eclipse, we will sprinkle water from the Ganga to purify the temple before getting on with the morning rituals," temple priest Shiv Shankar told IANS.

"It is inauspicious to invoke the deities during an eclipse. The idols will be covered by organic material like grass, leaves of the neem or vila trees or raw silk shroud to prevent the natural aura from being destroyed," a priest at Jhandewalan temple said.

The Lakshmi Narayan temple at Mandir Marg, better known as the Birla temple, will also be closed.

And what about astronomers, who usually get so excited over eclipses? Nehru Planetarium Director N. Rathnasree told IANS: "This lunar eclipse is very minimal. It's a kind of preview of a solar eclipse coming on Jan 15 that will be total in southern India for about 10 minutes, while it will be partial here."

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