WORLD> Asia-Pacific
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WORLD> Asia-Pacific
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Total solar eclipse shrouds Asia in darkness
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-22 14:08 A 10-member team of scientists from the premier Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bangalore and the Indian air force filmed the eclipse from an aircraft. Scientists had said the Indian village of Taregna would have the clearest view, where thousands of scientists, nature enthusiasts and students gathered a day in advance.
"It was still a unique experience with morning turning into night for more than three minutes," said Amitabh Pande, a scientist with India's Science Popularization Association of Communicators and Educators, in Taregna. Still, the rain was welcomed by many in this agricultural area which has seen scant rainfall this monsoon season. "It would have been nice to see the solar eclipse but the rain is far more important for us," said Ram Naresh Yadav, a farmer. Millions across India shunned the sight and stayed indoors. Even in regions where the eclipse was not visible, pregnant women were advised to stay behind curtains over a belief that the sun's invisible rays would harm the fetus and the baby would be born with disfigurations, birthmarks or a congenital defect. "My mother and aunts have called and told me stay in a darkened room with the curtains closed, lie in bed and chant prayers," said Krati Jain, 24, who is expecting her first child, said in New Delhi. In the northern Indian state of Punjab, authorities ordered schools to begin an hour late to prevent children from venturing out and gazing at the sun. Others saw a business opportunity: one travel agency in India scheduled a charter flight to watch the eclipse by air, with seats facing the sun selling at a premium. At a Buddhist temple in the Thai capital Bangkok, dozens of monks led a mass prayer at a Buddhist temple to ward off what they said would be ill effects of a solar eclipse.
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