NEW DELHI , India ( CNN ) -- While many now recognize the scientific explanation for a solar eclipse , the phenomenon is still marked with tradition and sometimes suspicion in Hindu-majority India . People test the `` sky watching telescope '' at the Gujarat Council of Science City in India . The `` exceptionally long '' eclipse that will cross half the planet Wednesday will be able to be seen by virtually all of the population of China and India . For beggars in India , the occasion means an extra day of receiving alms and food . The panhandler in Sandeep Jaggi 's neighborhood normally visits the block every week on Tuesdays and Saturdays , as well as the days of a new and full moon . And because his patrons mark an eclipse with alms-giving , prayers and bathing , he rarely misses the chance to meet them on this day as well . `` It 's a family tradition and I follow it , '' says 34-year-old Jaggi . He will fill the beggar 's small steel pail with mustard oil and coins and his disheveled sash with lentils . For others in the country , the eclipse is not a reason to celebrate , but a more ominous phenomenon . Send us your photos of the eclipse . Most pregnant women hope to avoid giving birth during an eclipse . `` None of the expectant mothers under my treatment are willing to have deliveries on Wednesday , '' Shivani Sachdev Gour , a gynecologist at New Delhi 's Fortis La Femme hospital , told CNN . In fact , there are critically ill patients who do not want to be in the hospital on the day of the eclipse , she said . Indian astrologers even advise expectant mothers to stay indoors when this celestial event occurs . `` It may not cause any physical harm to the baby , but it may affect the child 's overall personality , '' said R.K. Sharma , who describes himself as a `` remedial astrologer . '' A solar eclipse , he says , weakens the sun god temporarily because of an encounter with dragon Rahu and leaves some cascading results everywhere . `` Bathing in holy rivers and ponds during this time thus helps protect health and develop positivism and greater will power , '' he explained . About 1.5 million people are expected at one such pond -- the Brahmsarovar , or the pool of Hindu god Brahma -- in northern India on Wednesday . `` They offer prayers to the sun god and take holy dips during an eclipse , '' said Ashok Kumar Bansal , the sub-divisional magistrate of Kurukshetra , an ancient Hindu city . But the century 's longest total solar eclipse is not just about the dragon-sun combat , it also means business for some . Travel firms in India have plans in place to cash in on the phenomenon . Cox and Kings India has a planeload of eclipse watchers heading for the eastern state of Bihar , one of the most preferred locations for sighting the event . The plane will hover over Gaya in Bihar and return to New Delhi the same day , company spokesman Thomas C. Thottathil told CNN . Passengers were given two options : to book a `` sunside '' seat facing the eclipse for about $ 1,640 , or reserve an `` earthside '' seat for about $ 610 , Thottathil added . `` And it 's a sold out flight now ! '' he said .
Solar eclipse marked with tradition and often observed in Muslim - majority India . Most pregnant women in India hope to avoid giving birth during eclipse . Some critically ill people do not want to be in bed on day of eclipse . India : Eclipse of sun god because of battle with dragon Rahu .