Stargazing enthusiasts in Tamil Nadu are innovating to attract more people to the hobby by combining astronomy with diverse activities such as heritage walks, musical performances, book readings, and mangrove tours. These unique experiences aim to make stargazing accessible and engaging for a wider audience.
Unique Combinations for Stargazing
Bavanandhi Babulal, founder of StarVoirs, a startup that organizes stargazing tours, explains their approach. "We have had musical stargazing trips where we invite musicians to play under the night sky and then proceed to stargazing. Recently, we organized a trip with singers Pradeep Kumar and Kalyani Nair. We also had a stargazing trip with singer Chinmayi in Masai Mara, Kenya, and later in Iceland and Vietnam."
In addition to music, StarVoirs has integrated book readings into their events. "We recently invited writer Soumya Ashok to speak about her book on archaeology in Tamil Nadu before stargazing at night. Participants also share their favorite books under the stars. We have also combined stargazing with puppetry, storytelling, and bird watching sessions. A poetry reading session under the night sky is on the anvil," adds Babulal.
Heritage and Stargazing Immersion
The heritage walking group Madras Inherited recently organized a two-hour immersive experience focusing on the historical and cultural aspects of Chidambaram and the Pichavaram mangrove forests, concluding with a stargazing session. Ashmitha Athreya of Madras Inherited notes, "Stargazing won't work much in Chennai, so the nearest point we could think of was Chidambaram."
Participant Experiences
Naveen H, a product manager from the Andamans, attended a musical stargazing trip intrigued by the pairing. "I loved it. The musicians traveled with us. You get to meet people from different walks of life whom you won't meet otherwise. In the process, you get to explore new landscapes and offbeat trails, local culture and cuisine, talk to the local people and understand their way of life." Naveen has also tried stargazing with board games.
He highlights the difference in visibility: "In Chennai, you get to see only the moon and a few planets, but in areas with no light pollution, you get to see deep sky objects such as open clusters, the Crab Nebula, and Andromeda."
Ideal Time for Stargazing
Bhavanandhi says this is the ideal time to see the Milky Way, the pole star, and constellations throughout the night. "We look at the Milky Way core first through the naked eye and then more faraway objects through a 16-inch telescope. We look for galaxy clusters, deep sky objects, and double stars."
Engaging School Children
To spark interest in stargazing among school children, StarVoirs has been donating telescopes to schools run by NGOs. Over the past two years, they have given away 17 telescopes. "We find schools where teachers are interested in showing the night sky to students through telescopes and train the teachers so that they don't need our help for stargazing. Except for a few which are gathering dust, all the rest are actively using the telescopes." For example, a school in Tiruvannamalai holds monthly stargazing sessions, and another in Gudalur run by the Adivasi Munnetra Sangam also participates.
