Whenever I want a quick getaway from a humdrum existence or a break from sad thoughts, I reach out for a piece of heaven. Stepping into the open, I lie on my back and gaze into the sky. I am instantly transported into a wondrous realm of beauty, one that in the hustle and bustle of day-to-day living is ignored or forgotten. My body remains earthbound, but my spirit soars unfettered into the expanse of a wide-open firmament.
It was my father who initiated me into the mysteries and delights that the heavens hold. He helped me pin-point the North Star which, according to Hindu mythology, is the exalted abode of Dhruv, an ardent and unwavering devotee of the Lord. He showed me the Great Bear too, that glittering question-mark etched in the dark sky. Its two pointers, as these stars are called, can guide one unerringly to the North Star. One could watch Orion too, the giant that is in eternal pursuit of Pleiades, a cluster of seven stars. Thus began my love-affair with the skies.
How brilliant and cluttered is the sky with all its bright and winking objects! It is difficult to believe that all these celestial bodies are barren, devoid of intelligent life. Difficult too to brush away the thought that there may be a sentient being out there looking earthwards with the same thought.
Nothing but a glimmer do we have of this gigantic universe that spreads itself all around us. Under it, we seem to be small, inconsequential beings. It is a humbling thought, but one that is strangely comforting too!
The sky during the day is no less overwhelming. Ironically, it is in turning away from the earth that I seem to come closer to it. I commune with Nature with all my senses. I see the tops of trees, leafy canopies that draw green patterns against a blue backdrop.
Little colourful insects flit by on gauzy wings. Birds nestle in trees making calls sweeter than any made by humans. Clouds float by lazily drawing ever-changing patterns in the sky. There is so much to see, observe and sense.
The sky changes with not just the seasons but with every passing minute. The joys of watching it are so many that it might not be wrong to say that the sky knows no limits!