Antananarivo:
As India counts down to the crowning moment of its third lunar mission ‘Chandrayaan-3’ — the attempted soft-landing on the south face of the moon — poet and diplomat Abhay K has penned down a ‘Moon Anthem’.
The diplomat wrote the anthem in the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo, in anticipation of a successful touch-down of the lunar lander on the moon’s south pole.
The anthem opens with the lines, “Celestial diamond, primeval timepiece Cosmic lamppost, night’s soft kiss Seducing oceans, occulting Sun Silver goddess lighting up Heaven…” The anthem is an ode to India’s third lunar mission, which is tipped to set the tone for future explorations into deep space.
World-renowned violinist and composer Dr L Subramaniam will later set tunes for the ‘Moon Anthem’ and ace playback singer Kavita Krishnamurthy will lend vocals to it. Abhay has penned anthems on all planets in the solar system. His ‘Earth Anthem’ has been translated into over 150 languages spoken globally and is widely sung to celebrate ‘Earth Day’ and the ‘World Environment Day’ every year.
On the attempted lunar landing on Wednesday, Abhay said, “It’s a matter of great pride and honour that India’s Chandrayaan-3 lander is soon going to make a soft landing on the Moon. It will be a dream coming true for a billion-and-a-half Indians. I hope the ‘Moon Anthem’ would help connect humanity to our closest celestial body, our constant companion in the universe.”
The poet earlier served in different diplomatic capacities in Russia, Nepal, Brazil, Madagascar, and Comoros.
According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Chandrayaan-3 is all set to create history by landing on the uncharted south pole of the moon. The attempted soft-landing has been scheduled at 18:04 hrs IST.
The live telecast of the landing operations will begin at 5:20 PM IST on Wednesday. Live actions of landing will be available on the ISRO website, its YouTube channel, Facebook, and public broadcaster DD National TV from 5:27 PM IST on Aug 23, 2023.
India will be the fourth country in the world to achieve this feat after the United States, Russia, and China. However, it will be the first country in the world to attempt a soft landing on the lunar south pole.
Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Module (LM) — lander Vikram and rover Pragyan — is scheduled to make a touchdown near the lunar south pole.
