Eclipse shuts city down

BANGALORE: On Friday, you would have been told not to eat lunch after 2 pm, to have coffee before the grahana, not venture out, not look up at the sky, even when it was cloudy, and not to let Rahu and Ketu catch you in the eye. The rationalists would dismiss it as superstitions . But grandmoms did warn the younger members of the family to at least not venture out between 4 pm and 7 pm. Even the non-believers know that watching the solar eclipse with naked eyes is harmful. Not that there was a sun to look at on Friday.

Scientific or not, several older areas of the city were shut down for several hours. Basavanagudi, one of the older sections, was rather quiet, said resident Rajalakshmi. "Several schools were given half a day off and this saw children and their parents staying indoors," she added. Parts of Malleswaram and Jayanagar were also rather empty for the evening. Bookstores and several shops downed their shutters for a few hours too.

Shivakumar, a resident of DVG Road said, that even on a normal day, afternoons are rather sleepy in Basavanagudi , Gandhi Bazaar and DVG Road. "Shops are normally closed from around 2 pm to around 4.30-5 pm. They might have extended the time by half hour today because of the eclipse," he added.