©Subhashis Das
Crowds began gathering from about 5.30 A.M. at the megaliths of Punkri Burwadih to view the Equinox sunrise today. We however were one of the earlest arrivals this time. By 'we' I mean my wife Bubu, son Prantik, my child hood friend Dr.Sajal Mukherjee and his wife Tanushri.
I ofcourse had guests from Kolkata who arrived here to witness the Equinox sunrise; Prof Tarun Tapas Mukherji and his senior, the Head of the English Dept of Calcutta University, Dr.Tirtho Prasad Mukherji.
Earlier Alok, I and a few others had marked in the site with lime-dust for the crowd to understand the ancients alignments better and also to make them aware from where the sunrise was once viewed (hence should now be witnessed).
(LEFT CLICK THE PICS FOR A BIGGER PICTURE)
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Marking with lime-dust before the equinox day for the attending crowd to perceive the ancient alignments in the site better and even mark the spot of witnessing the sunrise through the V that was once created by the primitive megalith makers.
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20th March, Vernal Equinox morning. 5.45 AM. The sunrise was to occur at 5.53 AM but for the hills in the eastern horizon it would rise a few minutes after 6. The eastern sky was painting itself in myriad hues, meaning the sun was about to rise. Impatience was slowly seeping in among the crowd as they awaited anxiously for the sun to rise.
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The crowd await with bated breath for the sun to arise.
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Among many stones in the megalithic complex, two menhirs can be seen positioned adjacent to each other facing the mid-winter sunrise in such a manner that a V notch is created. The Punkri Burwadih megaliths is a
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The sky changes colour...as the sun is about to rise
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As there is still time for the sun I squeeze in to explain the functioning of the observatory of Punkri Burwadih to the attending crowd.
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fine example of the ancients' extraordinary knowledge of the skies and of how they positioned the stones with such precision that on Equinox mornings standing at a fixed point on the North-South axis of the site the
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...and lo... here is the slice of the golden orb...
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The beauty hypnotises the attending crowd for a while and then the cameras click...
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sun can be seen rising exactly through the V of the menhirs from behind the curvilinear hills in the landscape. Such was the stunning science of the primitives; attained by them by observing the transits of the solar orb.
At around 6.03 AM when the the slice of the orange sun appeared behind the hills exactly through the V as expected, a mesmerized hush descended on the gathering. The crowd was indeed stunned for a while watching the spectacular sunrise.
The Punkri Burwadih Equinox sunrise is not only about beauty but is also about the celebration of the ancients' wisdom of sciences that are long gone but still live among us in such megaliths...
Sajal who visited the sunrise for the first time, remarked, "...this indeed was my experience of a lifetime."
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