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Millions of Asians turn eyes to sky, while others hide
Source: Agencies |
July 23, 2009, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
MILLIONS of Asians turned their eyes skyward yesterday as dawn suddenly turned to darkness across the continent in the longest total solar eclipse this century will see.
Millions of others, fearing a bad omen, shut themselves indoors.
On a remote Japanese island, bewildered cattle went to their feeding troughs thinking night had fallen. And in India, a woman was crushed to death as thousands of viewers crowded the banks of the Ganges for a glimpse.
Starting off in India just after dawn, the eclipse was visible across a wide swath of Asia before moving over southern Japan and then off into the Pacific Ocean. In some parts of Asia, it lasted as long as 6 minutes and 39 seconds.
India
Cloud and rain dampened the show in many areas, but villagers in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges, got one of the best views.
A 65-year-old woman was killed and six people injured in a stampede at one of the river's banks where about 2,500 people had gathered, said police spokesman Surendra Srivastava. He said it is not clear how the stampede started.
Others in India, though, were gripped by fear and refused to come outdoors. In Hindu mythology, an eclipse is caused when a dragon-demon swallows the sun, while another myth is that sun rays during an eclipse can harm unborn children.
"My mother and aunts have called and told me to stay in a darkened room with the curtains closed, lie in bed and chant prayers," Krati Jain, 24, who is expecting her first child, said in New Delhi.
Japan
On the tiny Japanese island of Akuseki, where the total eclipse lasted 6 minutes and 25 seconds, more than 200 tourists had to take shelter inside a school gymnasium due to a tornado warning.
But when the sky started to darken, all rushed out to the schoolyard, cheering and applauding, said island official Seiichiro Fukumitsu.
"The sky turned dark like in the dead of the night. The air turned cooler and cicadas stopped singing. Everything was so exciting and moving," Fukumitsu said.
Some villagers reported that their cows gathered at a feeding station, apparently mistaking the eclipse as a signal that it was dinner time.
Thailand
At a Buddhist temple in the Thai capital of Bangkok, dozens of monks led a mass prayer at a temple in a bid to ward off evil.
"The eclipse is bad omen for the country," said Pinyo Pongjaroen, a prominent astrologer.
"We are praying to boost the fortunes of the country."
Myanmar
In Myanmar, Buddhists went to Yangon's famed Shwedagon pagoda to offer flowers, fruits and water to ward off misfortune. Some warned their friends and family not to sleep through the eclipse for fear of getting bad luck.
"We all got up early this morning and prayed at home because our abbot told us that the solar eclipse is a bad omen," said a 43-year-old schoolteacher, Aye Aye Thein.
Bangladesh
Bangladeshis also came out in droves.
"It's a rare moment, I never thought I would see this in my life," said Abdullah Sayeed, a college student who traveled to Panchagarh town from the capital, Dhaka.
He said cars in the town needed to use headlights as "night has fallen suddenly."
People hugged each other and some blew whistles when the eclipse began.
Millions of others, fearing a bad omen, shut themselves indoors.
On a remote Japanese island, bewildered cattle went to their feeding troughs thinking night had fallen. And in India, a woman was crushed to death as thousands of viewers crowded the banks of the Ganges for a glimpse.
Starting off in India just after dawn, the eclipse was visible across a wide swath of Asia before moving over southern Japan and then off into the Pacific Ocean. In some parts of Asia, it lasted as long as 6 minutes and 39 seconds.
India
Cloud and rain dampened the show in many areas, but villagers in Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges, got one of the best views.
A 65-year-old woman was killed and six people injured in a stampede at one of the river's banks where about 2,500 people had gathered, said police spokesman Surendra Srivastava. He said it is not clear how the stampede started.
Others in India, though, were gripped by fear and refused to come outdoors. In Hindu mythology, an eclipse is caused when a dragon-demon swallows the sun, while another myth is that sun rays during an eclipse can harm unborn children.
"My mother and aunts have called and told me to stay in a darkened room with the curtains closed, lie in bed and chant prayers," Krati Jain, 24, who is expecting her first child, said in New Delhi.
Japan
On the tiny Japanese island of Akuseki, where the total eclipse lasted 6 minutes and 25 seconds, more than 200 tourists had to take shelter inside a school gymnasium due to a tornado warning.
But when the sky started to darken, all rushed out to the schoolyard, cheering and applauding, said island official Seiichiro Fukumitsu.
"The sky turned dark like in the dead of the night. The air turned cooler and cicadas stopped singing. Everything was so exciting and moving," Fukumitsu said.
Some villagers reported that their cows gathered at a feeding station, apparently mistaking the eclipse as a signal that it was dinner time.
Thailand
At a Buddhist temple in the Thai capital of Bangkok, dozens of monks led a mass prayer at a temple in a bid to ward off evil.
"The eclipse is bad omen for the country," said Pinyo Pongjaroen, a prominent astrologer.
"We are praying to boost the fortunes of the country."
Myanmar
In Myanmar, Buddhists went to Yangon's famed Shwedagon pagoda to offer flowers, fruits and water to ward off misfortune. Some warned their friends and family not to sleep through the eclipse for fear of getting bad luck.
"We all got up early this morning and prayed at home because our abbot told us that the solar eclipse is a bad omen," said a 43-year-old schoolteacher, Aye Aye Thein.
Bangladesh
Bangladeshis also came out in droves.
"It's a rare moment, I never thought I would see this in my life," said Abdullah Sayeed, a college student who traveled to Panchagarh town from the capital, Dhaka.
He said cars in the town needed to use headlights as "night has fallen suddenly."
People hugged each other and some blew whistles when the eclipse began.
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