CHALAKKUDY: Eighty-year-old Anthony recollects the tragedy that happened in his life after he viewed through his naked eyes, the total solar eclipse decades ago.

Anthony, who is a Thekkanathu house resident, is totally blind today. “Had I heeded the advice of elders, my life would not have been like this…”.

He is virtually living now in the prison of dark world. It all started with vision becoming bleaker and bleaker until one day when he lost his vision completely.

Till he was 40, Anthony was a healthy man, riding cycle for kilometres and selling cigarettes. The ill-fated day when his life would change for worse fell on February 16, 1980.

On that day, it was total solar eclipse in Kerala. Since noon, people started remaining shut up inside their homes. Even birds and animals didn’t come out in the day light. It was like a bandh day.

“But I, who was 41 then, didn’t mind all his. I took my cycle and bundles of cigarettes and rode to Korattuyangadi in order to supply the good to shops there. Those shops were about to put their shutters down but I supplied them the packets and cycled back to Chalakkudy. On my way back, I sumptuously savoured the sight of sun getting eclipsed by the moon, through my naked eyes.

But when I reached home, tears started rolling down my eyes and this went on till night. After two years, I started losing night vision and slowly, I lost my vision during day time also.

For some time, while I was partially blind, I ran a stationary shop near my house. I handed over the business to my elder son Babu after I became totally blind in my both eyes.

I also had to spend a lot for my treatment. Some years later it was one doctor who told me my loss of sight might have been the after-effect of watching solar eclipse through naked eyes.