Atulya Yatra A chance to witness the celestial spectacle of the Lyrids meteor shower from the foothills of Animalai – Atulya Yatra in India

After the death of his wife Eurydice, Orpheus, son of the Greek god Apollo and the goddess Calliope, overcomes grief and enters the underworld to bring her back. He is an amazingly talented musician. He played the veena so beautifully that even the gods were mesmerized. So, Hades, the god of the underworld, and his wife, Persephone, agreed to let Eurydice go with Orpheus on one condition: he didn’t look back at her until they left the underworld.

But Orpheus could not resist. He suspected that Hades was deceiving him. As they neared the exit, he turned back and looked at his wife. As a result, she is dragged back to the underworld, forcing Orpheus to mourn his loss all over again. He wandered aimlessly throughout his life, playing his harp. But to honor Orpheus’ amazing musical talent, the gods placed his lyre in the sky as the constellation Lyra. Or so the story goes in Greek mythology.

However, Constellation is more about visual spectacle than auditory pleasure. The Lyrids, one of the oldest and most spectacular meteor showers, appear to have originated here. It has been observed for over 2,700 years, with the Chinese recording the earliest sighting in 687 BC. It usually reaches its peak at the end of April. This year, according to NASA, it will be active from April 15 to 29, peaking on the 21st and 22nd (22nd and 23rd in India).

In Coimbatore, Pollachi-based tourism operators, The Papyrus Itineraries, in partnership with stargazing tour organizers Starvoirs, have planned a sky-gazing event to view the meteor shower. On April 22 and 23, around 20 people will witness the annual astronomical spectacle at Animalai mountain range.

Praveen Shanmukhanandam, founder of The Papyrus Itineraries, is excited. “This is the first time we are doing a stargazing event. We invested in a telescope. This event is an extension of our desire to make people experience nature. We already offer nature walks, bird walks and other treks.

Because Anamalais is located in the mountainous region away from dust and light pollution, participants will have a clear view of the night sky, said Sarath Prabhav, an astrophysicist working with Starvoirs, who will guide the skygazers. While the Lyrids meteor shower can be seen with the naked eye, participants can get a close-up look at other celestial objects such as Venus and the Milky Way through a telescope.

“The Lyrids are bright and at their peak produce 20 meteors per hour. The ideal observation time is from 12 am to 5.30 am. Apart from Anamalai participants, others can also observe the Lyrids from their homes. But they should avoid light pollution,” Sarath informs us.

But a sky-gazing session with Starvoirs is about more than just looking at the sky, according to its founder Bhavanandi, an astrophotographer. “We combine astronomy with a lot of storytelling. We sometimes try to include music. For example, at another Lyrids viewing event in Chidambaram, we had an independent musician, Ciennor, perform. We try to get our participants hooked on astronomy,” he says.

He shares a story about not needing a science background to enjoy astronomy. “During the pandemic, one of our campsites had a cook from Bihar. He was only 22. He came with me to one of the sky gazing sessions. He was hooked. He has learned so much in the last three years that he is now managing one of the campsites! He teaches participants how to operate the telescopes, among other things.

Like the Greek gods mesmerized by Orpheus’ lyre, we seem endlessly fascinated by the stars above us.

For more information about the event and booking, contact 9123555031 or 9443976979