Over the moon about things lunar

Harvinder Khetal

I was over the moon (delighted) as I came across the headline "Neil Armstrong's moon bag fetches $1.8 million at auction" on Saturday morning. It turned out that the long-lost bag used by NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong was auctioned on July 20, the 48th anniversary of the historic that time man first walked on the moon. During the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, Armstrong had collected some samples from the lunar surface in the region known as the Sea of Tranquility.

One has to be a bit lunatic to happily offer the whopping amount for some traces of the moon dust, I thought, though at the same time I empathised with the buyer since it reinforced the appeal and awe that we humans have for the moon. We are totally moonstruck by the Earth's satellite and go moony over things lunar. 

To be moonstruck is to be affected by the moon, such as being mentally unbalanced or romantically sentimental or lost in fantasy or reverie. Lunatic (crazy) comes from the Latin lunaticus (luna means moon) because it was believed that the changes in the moon made people go mad temporarily. And, who can claim to have not gone moony (dreamy, unaware of one's surroundings) at some time, the time you were unable to think or act normally when in love? Nobody can feel this more than that poor chap who emblazoned his arm with the tattoo of his girlfriend's name and felt frustrated a few years later when he realised that the 'love' was just all moonshine (nonsense, imagination, caused by the effects of the moon on the mind)!

But the fascination for the moon is universal and enduring. Paeans have been penned, piped and purred in praise of that perfect round piece in the far-off paradisiacal province. In an antakshri-like competition, some of the easiest songs to recall are the innumerable hits referring to the 'chaand' or the moon.

Kahlil Gibran has summed up a hard truth pithily: "We are all like the bright moon, we still have our darker side."

Even my little eight-year-old niece has set her sight on the moon. She wants to become a rocket scientist because she believes that then she would be able to just zoom off to the moon in her rocket. I hope she is not shooting for the moon (being very ambitious) or crying for the moon (longing for what is beyond reach) and her wish comes true. Of course, she will have to work hard to reach for the moon (to try to achieve something that is very difficult). After all, once in a blue moon (very rarely), people do realise their crazy dreams.

The phrase once in a blue moon refers to the appearance of a second full moon within a month, which happens once in about every 32 months. And, depending upon the weather conditions, the moon may appear blue any other time, too. So, it is not such a rare occurrence and it seems to be a misnomer. This reminds me of the proverb the moon is made of green cheese. It goes back to the fanciful story told many moons ago (a long time ago) that the moon is made of young, unripe and immature cheese which is green in colour. A simpleton sees the moon being reflected in water and thinks it to be a round, mottled cheese wheel. It has since been used metaphorically to sarcastically represent credulity or naivete.

In the French culture, the idea is reflected in the expression 'Il veut prendre la lune avec les dents' (meaning he wants to take the moon between his teeth). 

One of my favourite tales of the famous Turkish trickster Naseeruddin Hodja relates to the moon. One night, Hodja looked into the well and saw a reflection of the full moon in it. "Oh no!" he exclaimed. "The moon has fallen from the sky and into my well!" He ran home and returned with a rope to which a hook was tied. He threw the hook into the water and began pulling it up, but it got stuck to the side of the well. Frantically, he tugged and pulled. Sudeenly, the hook suddenly came unstuck, throwing Hodja backwards and hurting his back. He looked up into the sky and saw the full moon above him. "I may have injured myself in doing so," he said with satisfaction, "but at least I got the moon back into the sky where it belongs!" 

Similarly, a Serbian story talks of a wolf that drinks up all the water in a pond to get to the moon. Then in a Jewish legend, there is a cunning fox cornered by angry people whom he had tricked earlier. To escape their beating, it promises them an endless supply of water and cheese. No points for guessing that he leads them all to a well.

Children's folklore contains many references of the moon's cheesy texture. In a 'Tom and Jerry' episode, Jerry is shown enjoying cheese found on the moon. 

This takes me back to the dust that Armstrong found on the moon. Interestingly, many people believe that the 1969 historic lunar voyage was a hoax staged by NASA. Conspiracy theories claim that the Apollo programme and related moon landings were faked and that the astronauts did not walk on the moon.

But no matter what, I would not be asking for the moon (to make requests or demands that are or are perceived to be unreasonable) if I were to ask you for Armstrong's famous quote when he stepped on the moon. Yes, it is:

That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.

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