A chance to watch the celestial spectacle of Lyrids meteor shower from the foothills of Anaimalai

After the death of his wife Eurydice, Orpheus, the son of the Greek god Apollo and goddess Calliope, overcome with grief, ventured into the underworld to try and bring her back. He was an incredibly talented musician. He played the lyre so beautifully that it even charmed the gods. So, Hades, the god of the underworld, and Persephone, his wife, agreed to let Eurydice go with Orpheus on one condition: that he did not look back at her until they had left the underworld. 

Orpheus, however, couldn’t resist. He was suspicious that Hades was deceiving him. As they neared the exit, he turned around and looked at his wife. As a result, she was pulled back into the underworld, leaving Orpheus to mourn her loss again. He spent the rest of his life aimlessly wandering, strumming his lyre. But to honour Orpheus’ incredible musical talent, the gods placed his lyre in the sky as the constellation Lyra. Or so goes the story in Greek mythology.

The constellation, however, is related to a visual spectacle than an auditory bliss. It is where the Lyrids, one of the oldest and most striking meteor showers appear to come from. It has been observed for over 2,700 years, with the earliest recorded sighting dating back to 687 BC by the Chinese. It usually peaks during late April. This year, according to NASA, it will be active from April 15 to 29, peaking on 21 and 22 (22 and 23 in India).

In Coimbatore, the Pollachi-based tourism operators, The Papyrus Itineraries, in partnership with stargazing tour organisers Starvoirs, have planned a sky-gazing event to watch the meteor shower. About 20 people will gather in the foothills of Anaimalai on April 22 and 23 to witness the annual celestial spectacle.

Pravin Shanmughanandam, the founder of The Papyrus Itineraries, is excited. “This is the first time we are doing a stargazing event. We have invested in a telescope. This event is an extension of our wish to make people experience Nature. We already offer Nature walks, bird walks, and other treks.”

Located in the foothills of Anamalais, away from dust and light pollution, the participants can have a clear view of the night sky, says Sarath Prabhav, an astrophysicist working with Starvoirs, who will guide the sky-gazers. While the Lyrids meteor shower can be seen through the naked eye, the participants will have a closer view of other celestial objects like Venus and the Milkyway via the telescope.

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

But a sky-gazing session with Starvoirs is more than just looking at the sky, according to its founder, Bhava Nandhi, an astrophotographer. “We combine teaching astronomy with a lot of storytelling. We sometimes try to incorporate music. For instance, in another Lyrids sighting event in Chidambaram, we are getting independent musician Siennor to perform. We try to get our participants hooked on astronomy,” he says.

He shares a story to make a case that one needn’t have a science background to enjoy astronomy. “During the pandemic, we had a cook from Bihar in one of our campsites. He was just 22. He came with me for one of the sky-gazing sessions. He got hooked. He learnt so much in the last three years that he now manages one of the campsites! He teaches the participants how to operate the telescopes among other things.”

Like the Greek gods mesmerised by Orpheus’s lyre, we, it seems, are endlessly fascinated by the stars above us.

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