Spectacular shades
Manpreet Singh

And see — the sun himself ! — on wings

SO praises poet Thomas Moore the magnificent glory of the eternal ball of fire. Sun has been hailed by poets down the centuries as "lord of light", "lamp of heaven", "king of the day" and "nature’s eye."

Poet and writer Walt Whitman seeks sun in its fullness and glory as he writes, "Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling."

But how many of us take out time to witness two miracles —sunrise and sunset— that bless our lives each day? Very few. These wondrous moments escape us in our hurried race for survival.

You do not have to look too far — just lift your head a bit or sit calmly at your window — to see the colours of nature painting the skies red, golden, pink, yellow and orange. To see the fireball burning bright, or receding pensively into unknown vistas, can be one of the most enchanting experiences. The sun is the pivot of the bright days and starry nights. When the sun begins the day, fishermen move to sea; and when the sun sets, the birds return to their nests. It lights up the earth we walk on and shines day after day, dutifully. That’s why, perhaps, John Jortin writes, "The great duties of life are written with a sunbeam."

In a country like ours, which has diverse geographical settings, you get to see spectacular sights of the sun rising and setting at all possible locations — the mountains, the sea and the desert. To watch this "lamp of heaven" light up the sea from Kanyakumari is, no doubt, breathtakingly beautiful, but equally striking is its view when it rises above the desert of Mount Abu or comes up majestically behind the Himalayas. It smiles and shines on all, everywhere. It does not discriminate between the poor and the rich, the weak and the powerful, the good and the bad or the big and the small.

After completing its day’s course, it retires giving way to moonlit nights.

Thus describes T.B. Aldrich the glorious setting of the sun:

And spectral cities of the sunset-sea."