Very diminutive did I know about stars and constellations until that night, which changed my perception. I never imagined how beautiful it could be to spend a night with stars and celestial bodies, away from the city, on a stupendous mountain cliff overlooking a giant lake. With peace and nature all around, I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend getaway in the month of December when winters and wind add more charm to the otherwise dull atmosphere.
The activity started with a chit chat with a miniscule likeminded crowd who had come for stargazing camp. As the dusk approached, more and more stars started ornamenting the cosmic sky. Some were brightly lit while others were still struggling to leave an everlasting impression. I had never seen so many stars in a clear sky or rather I should say they went unnoticed in my daily routine. We talked about constellations, planets, universe and celestial bodies while resting ourselves on a huge rock with our eyes constantly gazing the sheet above. What an impeccable view!
After I saw planets and stars through a telescope, I laid myself on a rock, where all I could hear was the sound of the waves that seemed to be playing merrily with the shore, all I could see was the beauty of stars and the blue above me, all I could embrace was the wind, all I could touch was the cold earth, all I could breathe was the freshness and all I could feel was a blessing. It was a moment of complete bliss where I laid in silence with myself, for myself, being myself and in myself. No one to talk with, no phone, no technology, no electricity, no cacophony of the city and no distractions. .. Just myself and the beautiful diamonds up above me. Yes, it was my moment.
It’s not an exaggeration when I say that I felt as if I was the only person alive in this universe. I talked to the heavens as if they were listening and showing me the directions. I spoke my heart out in silence and the shooting stars acknowledged my wishes. I saw not just one or two, but many. One after the other the shooting stars or meteors as they say touched earth’s surface somewhere. They appeared and vanished before I could say Jack Robinson but I was elated every time I saw one.
After lying there for a good amount of time, I reached my tent in the wee hours of the morning and rested myself in a dreamless slumber, so satisfactory and peaceable in nature. In a couple of hours, I was woken up by the rooster crowing at the break of the dawn. Needless to say, the sight of the sunrise was truly mesmerizing and my trek down the mountain was thoroughly adventurous. It’s true that I didn’t want to return to the city after my meticulous meet with the nature, but what’s truer is that if I hadn’t returned, I wouldn’t have realized its prominence to pen down my experience.
I returned completely rejuvenated and now look forward to more of such ‘SPARKLING NIGHTS’ in the times ahead.
