The mystery of Uttarayana

Winter Solstice is a significant event and celebrated across northern hemisphere. Winter Solstice occurs on 22 December every year which marks beginning of northward journey of Sun. It brings more sunlight leading to longer days and Sun is important for life on earth. 

In India, this celebrated as Uttarayana. Uttarayana means journey towards north. However it is celebrated around 14-15 January every year. This festival is called Makara Sankranthi. Uttarayana start on the day when Sun enters Capricon constellation.

If Winter Solstice occurs on 22 December why is Uttarayana celebrated on 14/15 January?

As we know seasons occur on earth due to tilt in its axis. The current tilt is 23.5^o.

 

Due to this tilt, as earth moves around the sun, we experience varying levels of sun-light across northern & southern hemispheres. On earth we see this as change in angle of sun movement across the horizon.

 

In northern hemisphere on Winter Solstice (22 December), we Sun at its lowest point and in Summer Solstice (22 June), we see Sun at its highest point. This is opposite in southern hemisphere. Winter Solstice (22 December) marks the day when Sun appears to start its journey northwards. On this day, northern hemisphere experiences shortest day. Summer Solstice (22 June) marks the day when Sun starts its journey south. This is the longest day in northern hemisphere.

In between winter & summer solstices, we experience two special days called as equinoxes. These are 22 March & 22 September. On both these days day and night are equal lengths.

We have defined imaginary lines circling around the globe called Latitudes.

Of these latitudes, 5 lines are significant. On Equinox days, Sun crosses equator. On 22 March defined as Spring Equinox, sun cross equator from southern to northern hemisphere. This event is celebrated in some cultures like Arabs. 22 September is the day of Autumnal Equinox when sun crosses over equator to southern hemisphere. Also on the both these days midday sun is right above our head on equator (i.e. Sun is at 90^o to earth’s surface). That means if you stand on equator at midday, you won’t see a shadow of yourself.

Tropic of Capricon is lowest latitude where midday sun is above our head (i.e. 90^o to earth’s surface). This happens on Winter Solstice (22 December).

Tropic of Cancer is the highest latitude where midday sun is at 90^o to earth’s surface and this happens on Summer Solstice (22 June).

Because of 23.5^o tilt in earth’s axis, Tropics are exactly 23.5^o above and below equator.

Arctic and Antarctic circles are lines which define highest & lowest points where either there is daylight or dark. That is in winter it is complete dark and in summer it is just daylight.

Well! What is all this got to do with Uttarayana on 14/15 January? I’m just coming to that.

As we already know earth’s axis is tilted at 23.5^o. However it is not always been same. It is not constant. It changes between 22.1^o and 24.5^o. It changes over thousands of years.

 

This phenomenon occurs because earth’s rotation is like a spinning top. Which means axis goes in a circle / elliptical shape. While earth is rotating daily, the axis itself rotates over a long period. Due to this phenomenon, the axis tilt changes.

 

With the current angle of 23.5^o, earth’s North Pole is pointing to Polaris. In the past (few thousands of years) it would have been pointing to Vega as we can see in the diagram below.

 

Sometime in the past about 2000 year ago, when Greeks defined Tropic of Capricorn, Sun was entering constellation Capricornus at Winter Solstice (22 December). On Summer Solstice (22 June), Sun was entering constellation Cancer.

In current times, Sun appears in constellation Sagittarius during Winter Solstice (22 December).

In India, we celebrate Uttarayana on 14/15 January when Sun enters Capricorn (Makara rashi) constellation. I think our ancestors started celebrating Uttarayana during the times when Sun entered Capricorn during Winter Solstice. However we are stuck to the tradition and celebrate Uttarayana according to the date when Sun enters Capricorn, whereas actual Uttara Ayana (journey to north) starts on 22 December.

For that matter, we should even rename our tropics for current times. Tropic of Capricorn should be called as Tropic of Sagittarius.

 I don't own copyright to any of these images used. I have copied them from web.

Tomorrow

"She should have died hereafter; There would have been a time for such a word. To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury Signifying nothing." — Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17-28)

So how do you handle stress?

Different people have different ways of coping with stressful situation.Some people take everything in their stride and manage tough times in very dignified manner. Most of us buckle down under pressure and resort to a blame game which leads nowhere, some prefer absolute tranquillity while others lament and curse their fate.

There's no simple solution.Have you ever been through a stressful condition that has lasted all lifetime ? Most often than not, time tends to wipe way all unpleasant thoughts and life goes on...confront the issue head on or take it easy, just remember that nothing lasts forever and one fine moment the stress will transform itself into something so trivial that you wont lose sleep over it!

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोस्त्वकर्मणि॥
— भगवद्गीता २-४७
karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleṣu kadācana|
mā karmaphalaheturbhūrmā te saṅgostvakarmaṇi||
— bhagavadgītā 2-47

"Your right is to work only, but never to the fruit thereof.
Be not instrumental in making your actions bear fruit, nor let your attachment be to inaction."

What really matters

It was an unusually busy Saturday morning and by no means matched our routine schedule of lazy weekends. For one, the day started with a lovely message from my father (I chuckled at his skillfully typed abbreviated SMS ). Thereafter, the day just vanished somewhere amidst all the dancing, jumping, walking and chatting!

What really struck me is that you begin to look at life in a new perspective when you are amidst modest souls with awe-inspiring attitude.

असतो मा सद्गमय


तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय


मृत्योर् मा अमृतं गमय


ॐ शांति शांति शांति

What really earns a customer's respect

1. Put the customer’s interests first: If you’re not doing this, customers will know that you’re just out for yourself. They may still buy from you, but they’ll never really respect you as a peer.
2. Honour the customer’s time limits: Customer, just like everyone else, are busy people. If you don’t respect their time, they’re not going to see you as worthy of respect in return.
3. Always fulfill your commitments: No customer is going to trust a sales rep who can’t transform words into action. You must deliver what you say you’ll deliver. No exceptions!
4. Understand the customer’s business: If you can’t be bothered to know what the customer is doing, then you’re not respecting the customer. That lack will be returned, in spades.
5. Add value from the first meeting: Customers expect MORE from sales reps than from other business colleagues. You have to provide value, up front, or they’ll write you off as useless.
6. Dress appropriately for the customer: It’s a little like dating. Wearing appropriate dress communicates that you value the relationship enough to take extra pains.

Making presentations

It could happen to you at any point in your career. You are thrilled that your boss has appreciated your report, but the happiness is short lived when you are asked to present the same report to the executive team. Sounds all familiar doesn't it!

You can spend hours getting ready, making sure you know exactly what to say,spent sleepless nights writing out the precious presentation and prepared every point thoroughly.

When the D-day arrives, you make a quick dash to hell and back, and sometimes just end up staying there!Nervousness drains you completely and you wish those last few minutes before the presentation never existed in your life.Stumbling through endless slides, lines, graphs and bullet points, you get to a point of no return, traversing a complete downhill .The executive team keeps wondering when an idea emerged and submerged without any notice, things are going from bad to worse and you know this is precisely the substance nightmares are made of!!!

Well, well...the world hasn't come to an end. Its absolutely human to feel that way, however you can work on the outcome of your actions and rule the roost again.As you climb up the corporate ladder, presentations become a way of life and the better your communication, faster you climb.

Survival tips on how you can overcome those anxious moments:

1. Rehearse: Wonder how the ballet dancers dance in perfect harmony, its taken them several hours of practice; every rehearsal getting helping them gain confidence.Trust me, it does get easier after the first few days, just don't give up. Keep your spirits high and keep practising.

2. Keep it simple: Do complex ideas bog you down? Break them to the simplest units till it makes absolute sense to you. Your audience will thank you for enlightening them with concise ideas. The fewer words you use the better.

3. Positive aspects: If you want describe the benefits of your recommendation for a particular piece of work, do so by highlighting the benefits. Describe that it is indeed attainable in a positive manner.

4. Audience: Look everyone in the eye when you talk. You will be more persuasive and believable. You certainly can't do this if you are reading your slides.

It's okay to be nervous, but nobody sees how you feel, just how you look and act.

When things go wrong

"When things go wrong"

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you are trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but do not quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.

And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.