Star Bright Star Light

Astronomers manning giant telescopes somewhere in the world, have discovered new galaxies and new stars trillions of light years away.

Our lack of technology.to scan the stars with our plebeian eyesight is sometimes so tragic especially when we try to see Orion and his dog or our zodiacal icons

Just once in a lifetime, I saw the Milky Way as I sat sleepless on a flight from Shanghai to Bangalore. In the depth of the midnight sky, I saw millions of glowing stars, row upon row in perfect synchronisation like kids in a march past. The plane flashed by but my mind still relives that sight. Many do not know of a supernova that appeared many years ago on a small dot of our world we call home.

 It was the birth of STARS which brought together a conglomeration in various sizes and shapes which astrophysics alone could define. Stars created out of Botany, Chemistry, English, Economics, Home-science, Physics, Sociology, Zoology and Languages that defined the STARS. The nom-de- plume or acronym STARS is St Teresa’s Association of Retired Staff. It has now become a beacon to those struggling with online lecture classes and tons of paperwork to comply with.

We the STARS don’t have to deal with such deadlines, no deadlines to meet, no HOD's to drag us thro their firebrand mandates, no UGC strictures. We the stars are our own mistresses and our younger STARS gaily trot the light fantastic toe and the older STARS talk at length with wisdom and shared experiences. We don’t have to struggle thro the grind of one upmanship who’s got the doctorate first, who’s getting awards by the bushel, who’s organising inane seminars. None of these matter except when we think of our own offspring. We have our own agendas.

Our multiple choices range from helping the birthing of our daughters or daughters in law, baby-sitting may be in London or Australia or Bengaluru, creative talents lying dormant, tailoring marvels, or perfecting cordon bleu culinary delights.

All these once took a back seat but now there’s more cranial activity which once lay dormant like Rip Van Winkle during our professional career. We have now awakened to a brave new world. Time by the bushel is now our mistress. Our get togethers may not start on time but that hardly raises an eyebrow, for the limping, the hobbling, or the illness recovered Stars have come with fortitude, to the forge of companionship, to have a pow wow with old friends.

There is no malevolence no malignancy no conflict of interests. It’s just a sparkling of Stars, like the Milky Way somewhere beyond the blue. The fleeting years will call us one by one leaving spaces for brighter Stars.

 The baton will pass on. That is our legacy