At the end of ND's article, I have given the link that Rohini had sent.
Sunset
– Nature’s art with a message
By Nihal Amerasekera
I have
often wondered why sunsets being a natural phenomenon which occurs everyday
evoke such intense passion and emotion amongst us. Is it the crimson glow that mesmerise
us ? But we don’t pine for the day
that’s gone!! The combination of the sun, the clouds and their reflection on
the water gives the sunset a magical status.
I am reminded of Rabindranath Tagore’s poem “Stray Birds”
“Clouds come floating into my life,
no longer to carry rain or usher storm,
but to add colour to my sunset sky.”
Something
to remember when we behold those enchanting sunsets.
The sunset
is transient . Although unfailingly regular its never the same in appearance
even at the same venue. So much like our own lives changing from day to day and
from year to year, sometimes the clouds hiding the beauty within.
Sunset
ushers in the end of the day and the end of our toil. It brings on the silence
of the night and the peace that comes with it. During my sojourn in Arabia I found the
Muhsin’s evening call for prayer
hypnotic, as the sunset across the ever changing sand dunes. I grew up living
opposite a church in Nugegoda. Every evening at 6 pm the church bell rang
rhythmically and gave us kids a clue it is time to get ready to find refuge in
our homes. This reminds me of Gray’s Ellegy written in a country Church Yard
(1751).
The
curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd wind slowly o’er the lea,
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
The lowing herd wind slowly o’er the lea,
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
In the
tropics, sunset also energisers hordes of mosquitoes to torment us in waves!!
But worldwide it is a busy time for thieves and burglars to earn their living.
Despite its beauty Sunset has its drawbacks.
I am born a
dreamer. Once it nearly cost me my life. I was living at the Jeewaka hostel in
1966. After a long afternoon study, I walked to the Colpetty beach with Sanath
de Tissera, to sit on a rock and watch the sunset. We often talked about things
spiritual to relax and unwind. As darkness fell we started to walk back, deep
in thought. When I was about to cross the railway line, my friend pulled me
back with great force - and I saw the train go whizzing past me. I could feel
the warmth of the steam and coal and was just inches away from certain death.
It must be
the diurnal variations caused by our hormones which make us more serene and
emotional past sunset and a lot more amorous and sensual too. With all its beauty,
sunset ushers in a seedy aspect to life and none more graphic than the wartime
music of Marlene Dietrich which was a popular when WWII was raging. The song ‘Lili Marlene’ conjures up images of a
young lady waiting under a gas street lamp for her Army lover to return.
Underneath the lantern
By the barrack gate
Darling I remember
The way you used to wait
'Twas there that you whispered tenderly
That you loved me
You'd always be ………
My Lili of the lamplight
My own Lili Marlene
By the barrack gate
Darling I remember
The way you used to wait
'Twas there that you whispered tenderly
That you loved me
You'd always be ………
My Lili of the lamplight
My own Lili Marlene
Everything
that has a beginning also has an end. For the light of the day, sunset is its
end. Sunset is a reminder for us all of our own mortality and also a memory of
all who have gone before us. It enlightens us to use our time wisely and to
keep our thoughts calm and peaceful. These are our sunset years. The simple
thought that we leave this earth as we came, with nothing, appeals to our
generosity and altruism.
I recall
with much nostalgia the sunset at Angkor Wat and its thousand year old temple
now being restored by the Cambodian government. Gordon’s Bay sheltered by the
Helderberg mountains in Capetown provides a wonderful vantage point to watch
the sunset knowing well there is no land beyond its horizon before the South
Pole. South America is like no other place on earth for its climate, mood and
landscape. Sunsets across the breath-taking landscape of the Atacama desert and
that across the Magellan straits in Punta Arenas in Chile will remain with me
forever. I have kept the best for the last. The sad story of the Taj Mahal has
resonated through history and its magical beauty fails to hide its grief and
torment. The sunset beyond the Yamuna river with the Taj Mahal as a back drop
is a sight fit for the Gods.
The link that Rohini had sent.
Nihal, This beautiful poetic piece of writing beats the beauty of all our sunsets!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much .
Rohini
ReplyDeleteThank you. The physics of the sunset certainly enhances its beauty. Those images tell a story so elegantly.
Beautifully written as usual. The words "Everything that has a beginning also has an end. For the light of the day, sunset is its end. Sunset is a reminder for us all of our own mortality and also a memory of all who have gone before us. It enlightens us to use our time wisely and to keep our thoughts calm and peaceful. These are our sunset years. The simple thought that we leave this earth as we came, with nothing, appeals to our generosity and altruism". particularly struck a chord.
ReplyDeleteI like this quote combining sunrise and sunset - "“There's a sunrise and a sunset every single day, and they're absolutely free. Don't miss so many of them.”
― Jo Walton. (A Welsh-Canadian author and poet).
Here is another one I like-"“A large drop of sun lingered on the horizon and then dripped over and was gone, and the sky was brilliant over the spot where it had gone, and a torn cloud, like a bloody rag, hung over the spot of its going. And dusk crept over the sky from the eastern horizon, and darkness crept over the land from the east.”
― John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath.
One could go on! So much to savour and rejoice!
Mahen, Thank you for these quotes - including Nihal’s, which was beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI hope one day I’ll find the time to gather some of the most beautiful passages from his writings-
Having read the effects of clouds on sunsets, (which I didn’t want to inflict on the bloggers) ! I can just picture the description from Steinbeck in the ‘dust bowl’ setting of the Grapes of Wrath.
Indra captured something like it in his photos.
Correction - should read “effect of dust and clouds on sunsets” in above comment.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Rohini and Mahen for their thoughts. Sunsets are special and have inspired poets, artists and writers for centuries and continues to do so today. I recall the art classes at school and my efforts to draw a sunset. I never had the talent for it but just shows how much it does impress and excite us at any age. Far away from the sea, sunsets in the hill country too can evoke those same thoughts and images although the colours are less vivid
ReplyDeleteWhile in Hong Kong I saw the sunsets between the silhouette of skyscrapers which has its own beauty. One needs to sit and wait for the sun to go down and allow one's thoughts to wander - a form of meditation. It helps to see with some clarity life's mirages and illusions
Nihal, you are on to something profound here- seeing “beyond the sunset”.
ReplyDeleteYou are probably familiar with Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.
Rohini, I never knew about Plato's Allegory but I know now thanks to you. It is a perfect description of what I meant about life' mirages and illusions. I recall as a kid wandering how my life would be in 20, 40, and 60 years. As I now look back see my image in all its forms at these various stages of life. Is life a dream or reality. Does reality begin when the dream ends? I realise it is a digression from the topic but nevertheless an interesting discussion.
ReplyDelete