Solar Eclipse and Village Taregna

Solar Eclipse at Varanasi (photo TOI)

Till recently many of us were not aware of a village named Taregna in Bihar near Patna, which became famous for being a venue for witnessing most spectacular and century’s last celestial event (Solar Eclipse) on 22 Jul 2009. Taregna means ‘counting of stars’ (‘Tara gona’ in Bengali). The name is interesting and it interested me to know more about it.

Taregna is believed to be the birth place of Aryabhata, the most renowned Indian astronomer who some 1400 years ago discovered that earth is not static and it revolves and moves. Aryabhata, it is said, used to count stars and study celestial bodies from his laboratory, the remains of which still exist there in ruins. This is why this place is named as Taregna, counting of stars.

Name of Taregna came to news because it was a place from where the eclipse could be visible clearly for a longer duration which attracted many astro-scientists and astro-tourists on 22 Jul 2009 including Chief Minister of Bihar Mr. Nitish Kumar, but the mosoon clouds disappointed everybody.

Taregna is also famous for being it the birth place of left extremism (Maoism) in Bihar. So it the place which gave birth of Aryabhat and later after 1400 years, it gave birth to left extremism (Maoism). what a contrast.