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Future predictably perfect

Poor Pluto's demotion won't change the way we live, say astrologers. But teachers are caught in a bind, writes Serish Nanisetti

"I saw Pluto about 500 km closer than earthlings and it looks the same as it does from earth. It doesn't make a difference if it is downgraded. It affects only the scientific community and the people who are into quizzing," that was the reaction of Rakesh Sharma, India's first man in space. But will this academic downgrading of Pluto change the future of people due to astral reorganisation?

Rest assured. Your future is going to be as predicted and will not go haywire because a bunch of blokes from International Astronomical Union are saying that Pluto is just Mickey's dog and not a planet. According to Gorasa Veerabhadracharyulu, HOD of Jyotisha at Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University: "Nothing will happen. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto were never factored in for our astrological prediction. So nothing will change," says Veerabhadracharyulu. What about people's faith in jyotisha? "Their faith is not going to be affected as our predictions will still come true as fortune-telling is dictated more by Upasana (75 per cent) and not just by astral bodies (only 25 per cent)," he says.

But not all predictions are influenced by Upasana, there are these palmists who make their living out of predicting people's future and they are sure that there are nine planets, 27 stars and 12 zodiac signs. Sitting on end of Tank Bund, three of the astro-palmists said what they tell people is by face reading but they relied on planetary positions for long-term predictions.

So if Pluto (called Yama in Telugu) is no longer a planet, will people's future change? "You have to give money. Then only we can tell you if the future will be same or different," they say. But the demotion of Pluto, which has created scientific uproar (only 434 voted to demote Pluto out of 10,000 scientists), has created a tizzy in classrooms. And a networked generation is asking questions. "Today the moment I walked into the class the students bombarded me with questions about the planet. It is good to know that the students are aware but we should be wary of the information flow," says Fatima Mary, a std VIII teacher of St. Theresa's at Sanathnagar. "We want to wait and watch but all the information in the media should be correct. We will continue to teach what is in the syllabus till the Board changes it. Now, a rethink will have to be done about mnemonic clues used for teaching children. We will have to teach std I students that there are nine planets with a rider that the information will change. That will be tough," says Fatima Mary.

Madhu Vijay Kumar, who teaches Social Studies at Kendriya Vidyalaya has decided to give the go by: "If they are planning to include Xena as a planet, then I will have to devise a new mnemonic trick. I have decided not to teach the children all the confusing things that are being reported and am waiting for the picture to get clear," she said about the problem she will have in teaching the new planetary positions.

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