Read the previous chapter in this series:
[Chapter 5] The Telescope
![[Chapter 5] The Telescope](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TwQV!,w_280,h_280,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F05f7884a-0baf-4a7e-9227-66c14b45f8d7_1536x1024.png)
Dhruv’s cellphone buzzed. It was the school. He picked up the call with consternation.
“I was not aware; I will look into it... He is usually reserved but that hasn’t affected his studies so far. We will make sure he catches up,” he hung up. He sat down and considered it for a minute. Taran’s headmistress thought something was up with him. He had better check the room.
The first exam was tomorrow. Taran lay stretched on his bed, his Chemistry book a right-angle and his elbow supporting his head. He still had four more chapters to memorise. Dad had already checked up on him.
He soldiered through the chapter, drilling equations and compound formulae deep into his brain, lest they might loosen away by morning. He would get stuck often, but now was not the time to research.
He closed his eyes, his elbow straightened out and he rested his head on his forearm. The book fell back to the bed. You had this coming, an unseen voice admonished him. I can do this. Taran opened his eyes.
The inky sky lay sprawled beyond the window. I need a break, I will come back, he negotiated, and stepped out onto the balcony.
He hugged his arms against the cold, and looked up out of habit. Stars. One appeared different.
This one star did not blink at him. He compared it to the others. The others twinkled, but that one simply stared at him. Something was up.
As if from an external point of vantage, Taran saw his hands move the telescope out. He observed them adjusting the fine motion controls. Within minutes, his head was bowed into the eyepiece, and he was screwing in the focuser.
The star had ears. His hands sharpened the image, and a live Saturn welcomed him. The ears were resolved to pale yellow rings. There it was, drifting across his eyepiece into nothingness – Mr Adir was right!
The balcony door clicked close with a sharp thud.
Dad!
Dhruv stood under the awning, taking it all in. Before him stood a scared boy, at the cusp of manhood, with his old telescope, on the night before his exams. The boy’s eyes looked from far away. Dhruv remembered the nights he had spent watching the sky; the secret passion which had consumed him. He smiled.
Dhruv peered into the eyepiece and saw Saturn streak out of view.
“Saturn looks good, but your polar alignment is messed up,” he said in a gentle voice.
“What is polar alignment?”
“You know that the pole star – your grandpa named me after it – is the one star which stays rooted in the sky. All the rest of the stars move around it. So, when you align your telescope’s axis to point to the pole star, you will only need to adjust one fine motion control – rather than two – to keep it from drifting away.”
They worked in tandem. Dhruv checked the latitude of Bangalore, and cranked up the knob to raise the old telescope’s axis to thirteen degrees. Then he used a phone compass to point it to the north. He watched his son patiently lock on to Saturn again. It was now easy to keep it in view.
They talked about planets, the moon and binary stars. Dhruv felt he had entered a strange old building covered with cobwebs and dust, only to realise it was his own house. He was thankful for this moment that he had arrived at; it was late but he had arrived nevertheless.
The cold finally drove them back inside. The telescope needn’t stay hidden any more.
Dhruv asked, “How is your exam preparation?”
He saw the frowning, frightened face of his son. He could not judge this child knowing where this anguish came from.
He pulled him close.
“It is just an exam; many more will come and go. Come, show me what is left to be studied. We will study together.”
The father and son worked as a team that night. It was four in the morning when Dhruv tucked his tired son to sleep. He would not sleep that night.
Read the next chapter in this series:
[Chapter 7] The Telescope
![[Chapter 7] The Telescope](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xBDM!,w_280,h_280,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1ad709c5-665f-4535-8fe9-8373e2ccc37f_1536x1024.png)
Dhruv’s phone chimed. He read the message, then strode into the drawing room where his family were eating breakfast. The TV gabbed in the background. It was a February Sunday.