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Space and beyond

Menka Shivdasani

When Eugene Cernan was a young boy watching newsreels in the days of World War II, he had a dream. It was a dream that made him want to reach for the sky; the sort of dream that hundreds and thousands of people the world over feel when they are young and the world is still a marvellous place. ``What I didn't know then,'' he said, ``was that the dream would allow me to reach for the stars''.

Eugene Cernan had the will to make that dream come true -- literally. It wasn't long before he found himself among ``hundreds of very qualified human beings'', all of whom were aspiring to travel in space. Six months and several tests later, he was among the 14 shortlisted, and in 1966, he became the second American to walk in space as a pilot on Gemini IX.

That would have been impressive enough, but it was just the beginning. In 1969, he was one of a crew of three to venture to the Moon on Apollo X and in 1972, achieved yet another unique distinction. As Commander of Apollo XVII, he was the last man to lea ve his footprints on the `magnificent desolation' of the moon -- footprints that would still be there 30 years later, along with the initials of his daughter that he carved onto moon dust.

Eugene A. Cernan was in Mumbai as brand ambassador for Omega, the Swiss watch manufacturer that has been flight-qualified for all NASA manned space missions. The Omega Speedmaster Professional is the first and only watch to have been worn on the moon. Ce rnan also unveiled the Omega Space Exhibition, displaying the Lunar Rover that he drove on the moon, a space outfit that he wore during one of his missions and other crucial space equipment.

It was the sort of event that was ideal for a channel like Discovery. In the run-up to the visit, Discovery Channel had hosted an on-air contest, where the winner could earn an Omega Speedmaster. Starting May 21, Discovery had also presented various spac e-related programmes on air. It was the same week, incidentally, that National Geographic Channel -- widely seen as Discovery's biggest competitor -- had its much hyped up global telecast of Pearl Harbor: Legacy of Attack. A coincidence? But of course!

The evening with Eugene Cernan was made extra special by the fact that the first Indian in space Rakesh Sharma was there as well. As an 18-year-old, Sharma had had dreams very similar to Cernan's -- of being a fighter pilot -- when he first read about Yu ri Gagarin's breakthrough conquest of space. Suddenly, it wasn't enough merely to be a pilot; Sharma's canvas grew larger, and when the opportunity to become an astronaut came, he subjected himself to rigorous selection procedures -- ``every scopy, from retino to recto, with some endo!''he grinned.

Sharma's 18-month training for the eight-day space flight involved everything from breathing with his stomach in space to what he saw as being the most difficult part -- learning the Russian language. The Russians informed him that there would be little difficulty in this since the grammatical structure of Russian was very similar to Sanskrit. ``The trouble was,'' he smiled, ``that I didn't know Sanskrit either''. It didn't help at all that the instructor assigned to him knew no English!

Sharma also had to learn to eat upside down and to remember to put his can of food into elastic straps between bites. ``If you forgot to do that, you'd end up flying after your dinner!'' he declared.

This was a memorable evening indeed, as many of those present would agree. Deepak Shourie, Discovery's new Managing Director was there, of course, but ``only as a guest'', he told me. ``This is Omega's event.'' Shourie wouldn't talk about his plans for D iscovery; ``it's too soon'', he said, and Rathikant Basu of TARA, who overhead, commented: ``Everyone says it is too soon until it is too late!'' Not that Basu himself was saying much about his own plans to target the rural market.

There were others too, like Sandeep Goyal, Group CEO, Broadcasting, Zee Network, and producer Vinta Nanda, taking time off from the `slew of new serials' that she will be launching.

While all this was happening right down at the Regal Room at the Oberoi Towers in Mumbai, Sony Entertainment Television had an event at the other end of the hotel, on the Rooftop. The channel, which is set to go pay, launched yet another soap, Kaun Apna Kaun Paraya (beginning June 4, Mondays to Fridays at 1.30 p.m.)

The show, produced by Shobhna Desai, is about a couple `blessed with a son and heir after three daughters'. It's a serial, Sony assures us, that will force us to think: Do parents treat their children equally, regardless of gender? Or does the male child -- the prodigal son -- hold a special place in their hearts?

It's a problem that is common enough in India, and I found myself wondering as I left the venue -- what is it that so often gives us these petty attitudes to life when there is so much to dream about -- and so many dreams that we can make come true if we believe them strongly enough? People like Eugene Cernan and Rakesh Sharma can suddenly give you a whole new perspective. As Cernan said to the audience that day, ``I've been in space, walked on the moon a generation ago. I dare you to tell me what's imp ossible in your lifetime!''

The author can be contacted at menkashivdasani@ftnetwork.com

Picture: Eugene Cernan, the last man to step on the moon.