Udhmal village in Surgana taluka of Nashik
An elevated concrete astro-slab is being built on the outskirts to provide an uninterrupted 360-degree view of the horizon. The experiment will get its biggest showcase on Oct 31, when the village hosts its first Stargazing festival. And for one night every month, a village will step back from modern glare so that an ancient sky can shine again.
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“This will be followed on every Amavasya so that stargazers can visit the village under the astro-tourism plan,” said Nashik collector Ayush Prasad. “High-glare lights are being replaced with low-intensity shielded lights,” Prasad said. “Part of the district planning funds is being used for these changes,” he said.
Nashik : A small tribal village in Surgana has chosen darkness. Not out of necessity. But with purpose. On every new moon night, Udhmal will switch off its streetlights and common-area lighting, embracing darkness so completely that the Milky Way may once again become visible to the naked eye. The initiative, called Batti Gul Amavasya, lies at the heart of an ambitious effort to turn the village into Maharashtra ’s first Dark Sky destination. All night each Amavasya (new moon), the glow of modern life will give way to something far older: A sky filled with stars. Udhmal village in Surgana taluka of Nashik The darkness is carefully planned. Homes will continue to have electricity. Only public lights and high-intensity outdoor lamps will be turned off. The aim is simple: reduce light pollution and bring back the night. For generations, the stars guided farmers, travellers and tribal communities. Udhmal wants to lift that curtain. Officials say the reduction in ambient light will create ideal conditions for visitors, astronomy enthusiasts and researchers to observe constellations and distant celestial objects. On clear nights, even the arc of the Milky Way could become visible. The village is also preparing for a larger transformation. Visitors will be able to set up telescopes, attend guided observations and spend hours under an unpolluted sky. The initiative goes beyond merely switching off lights. Conventional streetlights are gradually being replaced with low-intensity, downward-facing fixtures that illuminate roads without spilling light into the sky. For the district administration, the project is as much about conservation as tourism. Udhmal is betting that the future of tourism may lie not in what visitors can see on the ground, but in what they can see above it. Visitors will not only gaze at the stars but also experience Warli art, tribal music and local cuisine. It is a rare proposition. A village inviting people not to look at its streets, monuments or buildings, but at the sky. In Udhmal, the lights will go out. The darkness will deepen. Download the TOI App.
Today, in most towns and cities, they have faded behind a curtain of artificial light.
