A TRIP TO TWO CONTRASTING TEMPLES

    Anyone who is even vaguely familiar with the city of Hyderabad, has heard about the famous Birla Mandir, an iconic marble temple, and, the Birla Planetarium, both built by the Birla foundation in the mid 70s. In an attempt to enjoy what seemed atleast initially, a pleasant evening to be outdoors, yesterday, we (my parents and I) decided to visit Naubhat Pahad, the hill that houses the two structures . Once we reached the base of the temple, after the customary rituals of surrendering footwear and cell phones in return for a gold-ish token, and being subject to a clothed physical examination by a security guard, we headed towards the flight
of stairs that lead to the temple. Once atop the stairs, the path to the main sanctorium is a rectangular loop, ambling along which gives a beautiful view of the twin cities in all directions. Towards the north-east, there was the bustling evening traffic along the tankbund and queens necklace areas, on either sides of the Hussain Sagar lake. Not far away, on the east, was the green campus of the Osmania University, a relic from the Nizam times, that has stood the test of time, and is today, one of the oldest universities in India. Looking down south, one could not go beyond the mammoth floodlights of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium rising tall above the local skyline, which reminded me of the India Newzealand match I had witnessed there a few years back, where India trounced their opponents by posing an imposing 376 with Tendulkar scoring a sublime 186. Far along the horizon towards the South-West, we could see the silhoutte of the Shepherd's Hill (Golla Konda) in the sunset, and the majestic Golconda fort, once the capital of the Kingdom of Golconda juxtaposed on the hill. Inching along the corridor, identifying and locating a few other landmarks along our way, we finally entered the sanctorium, for a tryst with the Lord himself. Though I would hardly describe myself as the religious type, leave alone the pious, devout theistic variety, be it the inviting fragrance of incense, or the mysticism in the chants of the holy mantras, I have always sensed a divine serenity encompassing the sanctorium, one that can only be felt inside it. The 'darshan' with the Lord lasted a few seconds, after which, we walked towards the open marble patios in the temple, where people make it a point to spend atleast a few seconds, as is customary while visiting most Hindu temples. After spending a few minutes in the temple, we decided to head back to the base of the temple and amidst a slight drizzle, we headed towards the planetarium .

    As we were walking, I tried to recollect my last visit to the place. Though I wasn't able to fixate on the exact memories of my previous visit, I was able to remember bits and pieces from the past. A time that was so different from today. A time, when, the term 'cell' referred primarily to an invisible microscopic entity, that is the epitome of all biological life, rather than, a lifeless, inanimate object, that you could fit in the palm of your hands, but had the power to carry your views, thoughts and ideas thousands of miles across the planet. Those were times, when, a trip to the planetarium was something that was planned days in advance, and something that brought a rush of excitement in every teenager's mind. After a short walk, there we were: at the gates of the famous Birla Science Museum and Planetarium which was once, a dwelling place for the Sceince affcionados of the city. Twenty years on, it looked somewhat jaded and rusty and apart from the odd vendor, and a few employees who were obliged to be present, there was hardly anyone around, indeed, a sad sight to witness. Nevertheless, we booked our tickets for the next show, which was about Chandrayaan-1, the latest feather in ISRO's cap. Inside the planetarium, apart from us, there was this one other family of five with a hearing-impaired couple, whose presence, ensured that the show was not a private family (ours ofcourse) affair, but, an event open for the public. While waiting for the previous show to finish before we could be ushered in, I saw something that really assuaged my concerns about the meagre attendance in the planetarium. There were these exhibits and displays on stars and constellations, that graced the walls of the planetarium. As I was ambling along, glancing through the displays, I noticed the hearing-impaired couple walking from exhibit to exhibit, spending atleast a minute or two at each one of them, communicating with each other through sign language and exchanging ideas and thoughts on what they saw. One of the exhibits was that of the Bhaskara satellite and I could vaguely make out the husband explaining to his wife, how satellites are launched and how they circled the earth providing information on weather. The idea that there are still people in this world who have the inclination and curiosity, to come and spend time in a science museum and make an attempt to understand the world around them against all odds, really made my day. Really happy with what I had witnessed, I went into the planetarium and relaxed and watched the show (which had a narration in telugu, in a very sweet female voice). Though I felt the content of the show could have been a bit more detailed, I thoroughly enjoyed the show and came out very satisfied with what I saw. Space is the final frontier for mankind, and any time and energy spent gaining insight into human endeavours to explore it, can be considered spent wisely.

    All in all, a very nice trip that started off with an enigmatic experience, interacting with elements from the creationist spectrum of the "Science vs God" debate, and culminated with some extremely pleasant moments from the scientific spectrum of the very same debate, under an artificial blanket of stars and constellations, brought to life by the accompanied narration, covering details of their creation, existence and destruction, a true testimony to man's thirst for understanding his own origins. A few hours very well spent, I must say !