Din dhal jaye par raat na jaye....

These lines of a famous Hindi film song aptly suit the mood here now. The polar nights have started on 20th May 2008. The sun has gone down for the last time, after casting long, dark, gloomy shadows all over the icy landscape. We all watched it disappear behind the Schirmacher range. It was a bit cloudy, but not enough to deprive us of the opportunity to see off the sun. The clouds enhanced the golden glow of the setting sun. I felt like waving it goodbye. We won't see it for the next 2 months now.Many of us captured this once-in-a-lifetime experience on camera. First the ship, then the ALCI flights, then the skuas, then the snow petrels and now even the sun has deserted us leaving us alone to face the long dark, polar winters. But life goes on. Humans are known to take such things in their stride and carry on with their lives. So shall we, while we wait for 23rd July when the sun rises next and showers its warmth on us. The following are the sunset and the sunrise times during the final days before the beginning of the polar night:13th May 08: sunrise- 0934 hrs; sunset- 1244 hrs14th May 08: sunrise- 0941 hrs; sunset- 1237 hrs15th May 08: sunrise- 0950 hrs; sunset- 1229 hrs16th May 08: sunrise- 0959 hrs; sunset- 1220 hrs17th May 08: sunrise- 1008 hrs; sunset- 1210 hrs18th May 08: sunrise- 1020 hrs; sunset- 1158 hrs19th May 08: sunrise- 1035 hrs; sunset- 1144 hrs20th May 08: sunrise- no sunrise; sunset- no sunset