Despite the recent flood of literature warning people not to view the millennium's last total solar eclipse with their naked eye, and dismissing its myths as superstitious garble, old habits die hard, especially when rooted in tradition.

That is why Leharibai Rathod, a housewife, says she will donate black clothes to the poor and needy on August 11, to ward off any evil eyes. ``In our community we do not permit pregnant women to cut vegetables, mop the floor, or thread needles on a day of eclipse,'' she says.

Tradition apart, a young group of 12 newly-married women of Pune have advanced their monthly kitty party from Wednesday to Tuesday, because ``it is inauspicious to step out of the house during an eclipse,'' says Ruchi Nath, one of the group. Similarly, commerce student Tasneen Rangwala will be forced to watch the eclipse at home on TV, because, ``my parents are paranoid about it and have told me to stay home during it.''

And no amount of precautionary propaganda regarding the eclipse seems to be sufficient, for there are people out there with blissful plans that may endanger their vision. Like Juliet Gupta, who sneaked away from her teachers at boarding school to first observe a solar eclipse with her naked eye when she was 12, and says she has no eye complaints. ``Natural phenomena should be observed naturally, not on TV,' she says confidently. ``How can a solar eclipse harm my body?''

Likewise, Alice Coutinho plans to observe the eclipse wearing her zero glasses. ``What is the scientific basis for saying it is harmful to watch the eclipse with your naked eyes?'' she asks.

``Such recklessness is surely harmful,'' warns Dr Madhusudan Jhamwar, chief eye surgeon of the Pune Netraseva Pratisthan and founder-advisory member of the Pune District Blindness Control Society, who receives patients especially from rural areas, a few days after every eclipse. ``The silent mascular burns caused by viewing an eclipse cause no severe or immediate complaints, but impair fine vision of the eyes, which can not be remedied even with spectacles.''

``The worst damage is caused by staring at an eclipse,'' he says, advising people to blink frequently and wear a cap, even if they are watching it through protective glasses, to prevent light from entering the eyes directly.

Diabetics who have weak retinas, elderly people who risk aggravating the mascular degeneration of the eyes, any patients with eye complaints, those who have undergone eye operations, and children who he doubts will heed any advice, must never observe an eclipse even with protection, he advises.

And those who wish to overcome the grahan peeda,' are welcome to visit the Shri Shringeri Math at Bhusari Colony, which is conducting a shanti pooja, at 4.30 pm, a common practice at the math during every eclipse, says Prof V Srinivasan, a devotee of the math.

Of course, the city's science buffs have bigger plans. About 50 engineering students of the Maharashtra Institute of Technology have planned a two-day visit, armed with welding glasses from their workshop, to Khimgaon, where the moon will cover around 96 per cent of the sun. ``But the college has still not given us permission, since the trip means missing two days of class,'' says a student requesting anonymity.

At the Indian Meteorological Department, (IMD) Pune, Dr D S Desai, director, weather forecast, says he has been answering more than 50 calls a day from enthusiasts who are planning to leave town to view the eclipse. At the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) nearly 500 eclipse goggles manufactured by the Jyotir Vidya Pratisthan, worth Rs 10 each, and 100 booklets priced at Rs 40 each, called ``Night Too Soon,'' with a foreword by Dr Jayant Narlika, director, IUCAA, have already been sold, says Rajesh Parmar, at the IUCAA reception desk.

Dr Arvind Paranjape from IUCAA will, as a special guest of the Shahib Rajace University, observe the eclipse at Nahavand, 300 kilometres south-west of Teheran, Iran, where totality will last for 1 minute and 54 seconds. ``I will be coming back with photographs and video films of the event,'' he told The Indian Express before leaving.