Up Above the World So High

The stars have never been closer at an astrocamp in Uttarakhand which brings viewers face to face with the cosmos

- RIDDHI DOSHI

It feels like it's how dark it is at an astrocamp in Uttarakhand. At the Mahasabha, participants aged between 18 and 25 years spent a night stargazing, 10 kilometres away from Almora. The city, aged 2000 years, is pleasantly surrounded by a sky full of stars every evening, which is more than what they see at home. "I have never seen so many stars in one place," one exclaims. Manish Ray, founder and organiser of the Uttarakhand Astronomy Club, says, "Lights off." The lights of the city are switched off. The pitch-black sky becomes pitch black. For a couple of minutes, nothing can be seen. But slowly, as the eyes adapt to the darkness, gradually myriad silver dots appear. The light trails are usually minimal, with minimal light pollution, so that stars are clearly visible. In the night sky, even the International Space Station (ISS) is visible, tracing its usual ellipse for a few seconds eliciting excited squeals and applause from participants.