Chandrayaan-3 landing: Mumbai celebrates as Moon comes within India’s grasp | Mumbai News – Times of India

MUMBAI: The long-held idiom ‘reaching for the moon’ became a dream realized as India’s ‘Chandrayaan-3’ landed on the South Pole of the lunar surface at 6.04pm on Wednesday.
ISRO’s scientists received immense praise and gratitude from citizens who were hoping to erase the sour aftertaste of the Chandrayaan-2 failure.
Generations of Indian children have been charmed by the fabled Chandamama, a benign uncle who watches over them as they sleep.
Astrology derives much of its influence from the moon’s soft feminine energy. Legends of romance nestle in the glow of the moonlight, and countless film songs speak of the silver orb as the sole witness to stolen trysts. On Wednesday, children, adults, radio channels, all broke into joyous frenzy at India’s historic moon landing.
Holding the Tricolour aloft, singing nationalistic songs, and distributing sweets, Mumbaikars savored live screenings as they celebrated the moment. A viral video showed large crowds outside Andheri railway station cheering loudly with smiles writ large on their faces.
Nehru Science Centre in Worli organized a Chandrayaan meet-up helmed by scientist Mayank Vahia, where 70% of the 200 participants were enthusiastic schoolchildren, and the rest were parents.
“The smallest guest was a seven-month-old infant! There was such joy when the ISRO chairman announced its success,” smiled Vahia.
He cautioned against associating the historic mission solely with nationalism, saying India’s achievement was intended to benefit all of mankind, including the international scientific community.
Umesh Rustagi, director of the centre, watched proudly from his ancestral village on the Haryana-Rajasthan border.
Around 400 people registered for a parallel event at TIFR (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research).
Indeed, the milestone was not merely about patriotism. Scientific temper was much in evidence when TOI interacted with the students of Sathaye College, Vile Parle, which arranged a lecture by astronomy expert DK Soman.
“It is not just about being the first country to land near the moon’s South Pole, but about the entire humanity. Our Rover will be the first to explore the dark craters which may contain water. If we find water, hydrogen could be a source of clean energy,” said Sharayu Muley, a collegian from Goregaon.
Her friend Gayatri Mestri was “excited to know about the region’s water and ice that could supply fuel, oxygen, and drinking water for future missions.”
The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and the National Museum of Indian Cinema jointly held a live telecast at JB Hall on Pedder Road. Local resident Hitesh Joshi marveled at how much his daughter Shivani, a class nine student, knew about the Rover.
Minutes after the mission’s success, India Post, Maharashtra Circle, released a Chandrayaan 3 special cancellation cover. It featured the image of the spacecraft along with the date and the pin code.
“It has immense value for philatelists and space enthusiasts,” said chief postmaster general, Maharashtra Circle, KK Sharma.
Political parties were quick to climb on the bandwagon. State minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha’s followers celebrated with drumbeats and maha aarti. BJP MLA Atul Shah himself prepared a song on Chandrayaan, then distributed 2,000 laddoo boxes bearing the spacecraft insignia.
But an odd number questioned the celebrations. “It is just a technological victory for Indian scientists and has hardly anything that will immediately benefit us as citizens of this country. Other countries have already landed their Rovers in the southern area of the moon and collected samples,” claimed Vikas Kamdar, a Chembur resident.
Naysayers found little space, though, as the country collectively celebrated amid happiness and moist eyes.