Passion for Places
BY APURVA
RAI
SINCE childhood I have been visiting Varanasi, my ancestral
town, and watching devotees offering water and worshipping the rising sun on the banks of the holy
Ganges. My father also took me to Darjeeling, West Bengal, where we booked a
long hilly drive for Tiger Hill just to have a glimpse of the rising sun. We
were unlucky as the sky was overcast. Nobody could not even notice when the sun
tore apart the thick layer of clouds. The golden sun rays greeted the anxious
tourists with a smile to say a very Good Morning. Everyone understood that its
time to leave and better luck next time.
We were,
however, lucky next time during our visit to Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, where the
sun popped up from behind the ocean leaving everyone spell bound.
The rising sun
is admired worldwide be it tourists or the devotees. It is rightly said that
the rising sun brings with it new hopes and energy for the mankind. It is aptly
said that the “people only worship the rising sun”.
It is true that the world worships the rising sun, but, it is also true that the beauty of setting sun can stop you on where you are. The setting sun can be seen anywhere whether you are in a city full of concrete jungle, whether you are in a village or on banks of a river or in the mountains or in a forest. The beauty is mesmerizing which no words can describe; simply spare a few moments, stand still, keep silence and enjoy!
While the rising sun fills you with fresh energy and enthusiasm the sun down
is pure romance which gives you hope that the sun is setting today, to rise
again tomorrow.
MANY PLACES TO SEE: There are many places in the world where people travel to witness the disappearance of the sun below the horizon. Some of them are Barcelona in Spain, Swiss Alps, Cairo in Egypt, Florida Keys in USA.
India too has several spots that one can visit to see the golden rays of the sun down. Some of them are: Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh, Palolem Beach in Goa, Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan and many more.
VISIT TO LANSDOWNE: My passion for places took me to Lansdowne, the cantonment town and home to Garhwal
Rifles, in Uttarakhand some time ago
with my family. It was a pleasant surprise for me to learn about the Sunset
Point where one can stop to admire the beautiful skyline in the evening as the
sun goes down at the other end hiding itself behind the hills. Just stay calm,
sip a cup of coffee and drown yourself in the pure romance of nature.
Divine faith and the excitement to get the best view we pushed ourselves
to the Durga Mata Mandir (temple). It turned out to be a bliss. Standing within
the premises of a temple we could not but express our gratitude to the prowess
and beauty of the nature. Nothing can measure your divine feelings as the deity
within the temple blessed us while the sun bid adieu giving the message of yet
another day and new hopes.
I made a small attempt to capture the scenic beauty with my mobile phone. Lost in admiring the nature’s gift I managed to take a couple of shots because I knew pictures can be clicked again but the beautiful sight, if lost once, is lost forever. I must admit that these photographs have been photoshopped to enhance their beauty.
There may be a sun set everyday but it does not make them any less
special. That is why, perhaps, my wife pulled a broken chair from the temple
and immersed herself in watching
different hues of yellow and red spread in the skyline as the fireball went
down the horizon hiding itself behind the hills.
Second Opinion brings some of the
photographs along with some famous quotes.
Sunsets are proof that no matter what happens, every day can end beautifully.
When the sun is setting, leave whatever you are doing and watch it.
A sunset is the sun’s fiery kiss to the night.
Sunrise is the start of something beautiful—the Day. Sunset is th start of something beautiful—th Night.
Enjoy a couple of lovely sunset songs:
