Sunset – Nature’s art with a message

By Dr Nihal D Amerasekera

As the sun dips below the horizon, it ushers in the end of the day and the end of our toil. It brings on the silence of the night and the peace that follows. It beckons the time to rest and reset our lives

I have often wondered why sunsets being a natural phenomenon that occurs every day evoke such intense passion and emotion. Sunsets have inspired generations of artists, poets, writers and photographers to archive its beauty and they have done so most eloquently. Is it the warm crimson glow that mesmerise us before the inevitable gloom? But we never pine for the day that’s gone. Our thoughts are on the promise of a new dawn. The combination of the sun, the clouds and their reflection on the water gives the sunset a magical status. I am reminded of Rabindranath Tagore’s poem “Stray Birds”

“Clouds come floating into my life,

no longer to carry rain or usher storm,

but to add colour to my sunset sky.”

Something delightful to remember when we behold those enchanting sunsets.

The sunsets are so transient as they fade into the night. Although unfailingly regular they are never the same in appearance, changing every day. So much like our own lives. Atmospheric winds and currents bring those wispy cotton candy clouds to the sunset to hide the beauty within.

During my sojourn in Arabia, I saw the sunset across the ever-changing sand dunes. Its beauty was enhanced by the serene and hypnotic Muhsin’s evening call for prayer. I grew up living opposite the Anglican church of St Mary and St John in Nugegoda. Every evening at 6 the church bell rang rhythmically and melodically. This gave us kids the cue, it was time to get ready to find refuge in our homes. This reminds me of Gray’s Elegy written in a country Church Yard when he recreates images of a typical village scene.

The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd wind slowly o’er the lea,
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.

Despite its exquisite beauty, sundown has its drawbacks too. In the tropics, the dipping sun energises hordes of mosquitoes to torment us in waves causing great inconvenience and bringing disease. Eventide is also a busy time for thieves and burglars to earn their living.

I am born a dreamer. Once it nearly cost me my life. In 1966, I was a medical student living at the Jeewaka Medical Hostel in Kollupitiya. After a long afternoon study, I walked to the local beach with a friend to sit on a rock and watch the sunset. We often talked about things spiritual to relax and unwind. As darkness fell, we started to walk back, deep in thought. When I was about to cross the railway line, my friend pulled me back with great force – and I saw the train go whizzing past me. I could feel the warmth of the steam and coal and was just inches away from certain death.

It must be the diurnal variations caused by our hormones that make us more serene and emotional past sunset. We become a lot more amorous and sensual too. With all its beauty, sunset ushers in a seedy aspect to life and none more graphic than the wartime music of Marlene Dietrich which was a popular when WWII was raging in Europe. The song ‘Lili Marlene’ conjures up images of a young lady waiting under a gaslit street lamp for her Army lover to return.

Underneath the lantern
By the barrack gate
Darling I remember
The way you used to wait
‘Twas there that you whispered tenderly
That you loved me
You’d always be ………
My Lili of the lamplight
My own Lili Marlene

Every beginning also has an end. For the light of the day, sunset is its end. For the seniors of this world these are our sunset years. The simple thought that we leave this earth as we came, with nothing must appeal to our generosity and altruism.Sunset is a reminder for us all of our own mortality. It enlightens us to use our time wisely and to keep our thoughts peaceful.

My earliest memories of sunsets go back to my early childhood. I owe much to my parents who loved nature’s beauty. It was our Sunday family ritual to go to Galle Face Green in the late evening to watch the sunset. I was then far too young to appreciate its beauty and preferred to suck Aleric’s ice cream and watch the colourful kites flying high in the sky.

As a teenager I lived with my parents in Kurana-Katunayake. The place was then a small leafy middle-class town. Our house backed on to the blue waters of the Negombo lagoon. This gave us stunning views of the sunsets across the lagoon as the sun disappeared behind the palm fringed beaches of Pitipana.

I spent my university holidays with my parents in Weligama. I often sat on a rock by the Weligama bay to appreciate the pristine beauty of the sunset. Despite the passage of years, the bright golden globe dipping slowly and sinking behind the sea is still a memory I cherish. These remain some of the most beautiful moments and the sacred treasures of my life. The sky at sunset is a sight to behold with its radiating hues. First it turns red, then a deep orange and a dark pink. Meteorologists and Physicists have explained most elegantly the fascinating science of those beautiful sunsets.

The elegant sunsets I have witnessed in my travels have a special place in my heart. I recall with much nostalgia the sunset from the upper tiers of the temple complex at Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Its thousand-year-old temple famous for its grand architecture, is now being lovingly restored by their government.

Gordon’s Bay near Capetown in South Africa is sheltered by the Helderberg mountains. This provides a wonderful vantage point to watch the sunset knowing well there is no land beyond its horizon before Antarctica and the icy wilderness of the South Pole. South America is like no other place on earth for its climate, mood and landscape. Sunsets across the breath-taking landscape of the Atacama desert and that across the Magellan straits in Punta Arenas in Chile, linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, will remain with me forever for its elegance and brilliance.

I have kept the best for the last. The sad tale of the Taj Mahal has resonated through history. This magical beauty fails to hide its grief and torment. The sunset beyond the Yamuna river with the Taj Mahal as a back drop is a sight fit for the Gods.As you watch the sunset during that ‘Golden Hour’ sometimes it is so wonderful to be on your own. It is a time for a brief reverie and silent contemplation. One can meditate and be mindful reflecting on one’s life. The magic and enchantment of the sunsets will continue to enthral and delight humans for eons to come

“Enjoy the beauty of a sunset, nature’s farewell kiss for the night.” – Sharon Rene