Thiruvallikkeni Kodai Uthsavam day 3 - 2018

**தேசும் திறலும் திருவும் உருவமும், மாசில் குடிப்பிறப்பும் மற்றவையும் – பேசில்**

எம்பெருமானை நினைத்த மாத்திரத்திலே, அவனது - தேஜஸ்ஸும், பராக்ரமமும், செல்வங்களும்,  அழகிய ரூபமும், குற்றமற்ற நற்குலமும் மற்றுமுள்ள நன்மைகளும், நம்மை நலம்புரிந்து வந்தடையும். 

At Thiruvallikkeni divyadesam, it is ‘kodai Uthsavam’ ~ though associated as a festivity in summer – it actually is towards the end of summer season – in the Tamil month of Aani.  It usually rains too during this period.

Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons -  the days are longer and the nights are shortert, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice.  In Gustav Holst’s “The Planets,” a sweeping, seven-part composition inspired by Earth’s neighbors in the solar system, the song of Saturn begins softly, with the gentle hum of flutes. The melody, solemn and nostalgic, marches slowly forward. Then the woodwinds subside, and there’s an explosion of sound, a frenzy of horns and clanging bells. Melancholy seems to morph into menace. The roar is brief, and the movement returns to its opening softness, closing on the dreamy whisper of violins.

The Atlantic Daily reports that the  movement, first performed in late 1918, is enchanting and unsettling at the same time—just like the real music around Saturn.  .. .. and music here means these noises from the space between Saturn and its icy moon Enceladus: The source of this ethereal chorus is the movement of plasma waves between Saturn and Enceladus, recorded by the Cassini spacecraft and then converted into sound the human ear can register.

Away,  NASA’s administrator is a strong defender of President Donald Trump’s proposals for space – including an armed force and a permanent presence on the moon – and says he wants Americans to realize how much their well-being depends on what happens far above Earth.  “Every banking transaction requires a GPS signal for timing,” Jim Bridenstine said in an interview. “You lose the GPS signal and guess what you lose? You lose banking.” “If you look at what space is, it’s not that much different than the ocean,” added Bridenstine, who made 333 aircraft-carrier landings as a Navy pilot. “It’s an international domain that has commerce that needs to be protected.”

Last summer, when he was still in Congress, Bridenstine supported a measure that would have created a “space corps.” It passed the House but was removed from the final defense spending bill. Then last month, Trump called for the Pentagon to develop a sixth branch of the American armed services that would protect national and commercial interests in space.  UAE students who dream of travelling to space, engineering rockets, or delving into the depths of designing a mission to Mars are in for a treat next month as the NASA Space and Rocketry Summer Camp 2018 comes to the UAE for the first time. Open to all students aged from 9 to 18 years, the camp will be led by NASA experienced space experts from North America and Europe and will employ NASA’s and the UAE’s space curriculum, space projects, astronaut training and other activities. Students will learn what it’s like to live and work in space, learn about missions to Mars and design their own Mars base.

At Thiruvallikkeni divyadesam, it was day 3 of Kodai uthsavam – at 5 pm, Sri Parthasarathi Perumal and ubaya nachimar in separate kedayam had chinna mada veethi purappadu, kulakkarai via Venkatrangam Street, Gate aam – in the purappadu it was Moonram thiruvanthathi of Sri Peyalwar.

Here are some photos taken during the purappadu.

~ adiyen Srinivasa dhasan.

15^th July 2o18.