Why we don’t call Moon as Chanda Chacha instead of Chanda Mama?
Why we don’t call Moon as Chanda Chacha instead of Chanda Mama?
HARISH MONGA DIDO
Gone are the days when as a child I loved summer nights and sleeping on the roof of the house. The season gave a golden opportunity of sleeping with the stars and moon, out in the open. There was no fear of falling of the sky rather enjoyed the world of stars by spanning and scanning each star.
In our times, there was no rhyme of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and it was only there was a concept of nursery class and it was not everyone’s baby to join the model schools.
But sleeping with stars was quite natural and we have not heard of air conditioners or air coolers which remained a dream world for many decades. Rather we had been told of studying in the kerosene oil lamps in the absence of electricity. There was a practice of pouring the fresh water on the hot earth even on the beds spread just before the sunset. Really, the originated cool sweet smell from the freshly wetted ground had a comforting effect.
The evening meal was simple of dal-roti with pickle and sometimes followed by a sweet dish of ‘kheer’. The beds consisted of simple dari, chadar, pillow, and some white sheet to pull over in the morning shield to save from the ‘ghun-ghun’ of mosquitoes. Anyhow going to sleep by all of us – brothers and cousins – living in a joint family, was waited because of cool beds and the sight of the mysterious sky.
While on the beds, the first thing was to locate the ‘sapta rishi’ – a 7-star constellation in the sky. Not every day but sometimes there were also stories from a grandmother of Kings and Queens and a story of ideal son Sarvan who was mistakenly shot by a King’s arrow and King lost his throne for the curse of depriving blind parents of a son in old age. Horror stories of Swarg or Narak – Heaven and Hell, were also a part of bedtime stories when we all were not sleeping even for two-three hours on the bed.
However, later in the high classes, we learned the scientific facts of crores of stars in the Milky Way galaxy and for the light from the center of the galaxy to reach Sun, it takes about 27000 years.
Everyone is a part of the connected cosmic system. From decades moon had been an inspiration word to the poets about its beauty irrespective of its dark spot an opportunity for the lovers which now with the explanation is clear that none of us are just black or white, or never wrong and always right. No one exists with polarities. Everybody has good and bad forces working with them against them and within them.
It is no secret that the moon has no light of her own but receiving brightness from the influence of the Sun. We do watch the loyal companion of stars – the moon but Gary has given a different view by saying that you can be the moon and still be jealous of the stars when the existence of stars is with the moon. Cosmic things belong to all and so is the moon. Moreover, the best things in life must be free.
Frankly speaking, I recollect the question which our uncle – popularly known as Chacha, used to ask everyone – as to why Moon is called Chanda Mama and why not Chanda Chacha? He used to answer himself that women will always talk about the relations of their parent’s side – Chanda Mama and not Chanda Chacha.
