When the stars refused to come out

The constellations may have played spoilsport but the Geras were good hosts.

As if on cue, as dusk falls, the sky cloaks itself in the most lucid persimmon, blue and fuchsia. Juxtaposed against this painted feast is a cover of cloud mass that has assumed an other-worldly phosphorescence.

I'm on my way to meet Varun Gera, amateur astronomer, cosmologist, painter, Tintin fan, and by the way also COO of United Healthcare. Gera has offered to show us some constellations from the terrace of his Bandra home. Except, as night falls, the stars don't come out to play.

Never mind, we decide disappointedly, we'll talk about them instead. "It's not often you'll get a clear sky in Mumbai," says Gera, a reluctant Dilliwala turned Mumbaikar. He's just discovered, on Yahoo! groups, a bunch of young skywatchers whose affinity for chasing stars takes them out of the city every month.

His interest in the sky, universe and everything was sparked off by boredom. It was 1997 and most of Gera's friends were getting hitched and were not as inclined to spend evenings away from home in his company.

He had long nursed a fundamental interest in physics and metaphysics. "Astronomy seemed like a challenging thing to pick up. So I bought lots of books and started reading," he recalls.

The fact that he is an avid trekker provided him with tranquil nights and clear skies, opportune times for taking along his 10-inch Newtonian reflector scope and sky maps (star charts) for company. His proudest moment was climbing a 4,600-metre Dhauladhar peak. "My most vivid memory, funnily, is sleeping in a dank cave with some very hungry rats for company," he shudders.

His engagement with astronomy consists now of briefer stretches, more fragmented than he would like. For one, a damaged knee has put him out of mountaineering action for a year. So in lieu of the legs that are no longer made for walking, Gera and Devika invested in a Royal Enfield 500 cc bike that they take on extended rides. Devika is a biking enthusiast as well. "Except I can't put the bike on stand," she admits endearingly.

Gera wooed his wife Devika over nights of repeatedly pointing out the Orion constellation. "Perhaps second only to the Big Dipper, the constellation of Orion, the hunter, is one of the most recognisable constellations in the northern sky," explains Gera.

The story goes, we are told, that Orion and the Scorpius constellations are enemies in the sky. Orion had the misfortune of accidentally stepping on Scorpius' tail. "They never appear on the same night," says Gera.

"You need a lot of patience with skywatching. You would've just finished setting up the scope and in 20 seconds the sky would've changed completely," he says. Gera loves spotting planets as well. "These days Mars is particularly bright," he adds.

"The way to tell if it's a planet or a star is, of course, that planets are bigger, but also that planets are always lined up with the equator, so you look down on them," Gera answers the obvious question.

Gera has other interests as well. He enjoys sketching, with Devika playing his primary muse. On a wall in the living room, keeping company with Jyothi Bhatts and Himmat Shahs, hangs his rendition of Van Gogh's famous oil on canvas, Room at Arles.

"I wanted to study fine art except my mother was loath to let me turn into a jhola-toting dreamer," he says. His sister Manisha Gera Baswani, on the other hand, got her way and is today a successful contemporary artist.

Gera's career hasn't in the least bit suffered, of course. He's benefitted from having worked with distinguished employers "" ICICI, GE Money and Ernst & Young. United Healthcare is a Fortune 100 company in the United States with 280 employees in India. "We play broker and advisor to individuals and companies with requirements for healthcare solutions," he explains of their made-to-order services.

It's clear the Geras love travelling. Their colourful apartment is decked out with didgeridoos, hukkas and other traveller keepsakes. Varun is holding his breath to trek to Mount Kailash later this year. That is, if Devika doesn't put her foot down and insist on another biking holiday instead. Oh well...he can always reveal some more constellations to coax her with.