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Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Moonstruck!


The moon has always been an object of fascination for me. Like all kids, I used to stare at the distant moon and imagine all kinds of fantastic tales with extra-terrestrial beings, fairies and fictional celestial entities. I used to think about the umpteen possibilities of romancing the moon, as in the lunar myths and legends that have been enthralling kids and adults alike, worldwide, for centuries.

Writing seems the perfect medium to translate and describe the various tales, phenomenons and transitions of life under the Moon, either from legend or truth.
Ancient & quasi-modern history, folk-lores, fables, religion and science-fantasies are replete with man's obsession with the moon. The phases of the moon have given birth to many a traditional belief or superstition in almost all the continents of the world. Obviously, for the child in me, the associations were not all comforting and romantic. Some were too scary for me too; the legend of the werewolves is definitely found to be the scariest of all, there have been many legends of werewolves throughout the centuries depicting human beings changing into werewolves by the light of the full moon. In my childhood, I could have almost sworn to have seen them in my room bathed in the light of the full moon, when left alone, in the company of my fertile imagination!


From ghosts to goblins, werewolves and phantoms to the present day hauntings in films and stories, from poems and songs to Loony tunes and just plain lunacy, the Moon's allure is an inescapable nightly drama for me. Despite the primordial, archetypal images, moon unleashes love and longing. The blend of wonderment and the nostalgia sets free a profound enchantment, an ecstatic joyous spirit of conquering the darkness, an overbearing confidence far more fulfilling than even the scientific knowledge or the celebration of man's glory in setting foot on the moon!

pics courtesy: yahoo

1 comment:

mehul said...

Cool moon musings........ ha ha ha:-)
...Speaking of moon-inspired lyrics and poems, u could quote a few of your favorites, dude... but I know u might be having way too many to enlist..
Pne of my favorite childhood poems is 'The Moon' by Robert Louis Stevenson. Let me quote a few lines from it, here: "The moon has a face like the clock in the hall;
She shines on thieves on the garden wall...../
....of the things that belong to the day,
Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;
And flowers and children close their eyes
Till up in the morning the sun shall arise."