One of India’s first planetariums was set up in Ambala way back in the 1950s.While other planetariums, including the ones at Delhi and Kolkata, have grown from strength to strength, the one in Ambala has become a part of the history pages following the death of the planetarium’s designer Pandit Jagannath Sharma.
However, a new planetarium has now been built in Ambala cantonment opposite Subhash Park. The planetarium designed by Pandit Jagannath Sharma was a unique achievement in those days, it had gained considerable popularity in North India. The dome of the planetarium still stands on the roof of the house where Pandit Jagannath Sharma lived. Incidentally, Pandit Sharma was a stalwart in the scientific instruments manufacturing industry.
Pandit Sharma’s great grandson, Mr Vivek Sharma, said that Pandit Sharma was always trying to innovate new things for the betterment of the people. “The planetarium was designed by him and he had to put in considerable effort for execution of the project,” he said. Since there was no readily available reference for the exact location of stars, Pandit Jagannath Sharma had laboured for endless hours in the night. He managed to mark the placement of the stars on a globe. “Thereafter, the globe was illuminated from within and one could clearly spot the star’s placement on the wall. It was easy for the common man to understand,” Mr Vivek Sharma said.
The planetarium was termed `Chitra’. The planetarium reproduced the appearance of sky throughout the northern zone from any particular latitude and at any time of the year with great clarity. Twelve signs of zodiac, 27 constellations along the zodiac line and various other stars and groups, altogether, about 400 stars including 20 bright stars of the first magnitude, 65 of second and 190 of third and remaining faint stars upto six magnitudes were projected with their exact location and magnitude.For the movement of the globe, the gear system was employed. The different parts and gears were made of steel, gun metal and aluminium alloy.
Vivek Sharma said that the star gazers would come and meet his great grandfather. “He would give a lecture on the subject on the roof top and thereafter, take the group into the planetarium. All this was free of cost. Only prior appointment was required so that he could be available. Pandit Jagannath Sharma would simplify the subject so that nobody would have any problem in understanding,” he said.
Pandit Jagannath Sharma had also built a telescope so that he could look at other planets with ease. “The telescope was useful for seeing moon craters, polar cap of mars and the moons of Jupiter,” he said.
Narrating an interesting incident, Vivek Sharma said that once Pandit Jagannath Sharma spotted a satellite while gazing through the telescope. “When he reported it to other institutions in India, they did not bother to respond. However, he forwarded his observation to a foreign body, which immediately acknowledged the fact that a satellite had indeed been in that particular position on that day,” he said.
Pandit Jagannath Sharma is also credited for developing a battery-powered vehicle which was later gifted to the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. In his last years, Pandit Sharma was trying to develop a model of a train which would move through magnetic levitation. The project could not be completed.
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