Take it easy, Mr Lele, Feb has only 29 days

“We have written to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to find out whether February has 29 or 30 days next year. There have been some newspaper reports that the month will have 30 days,” BCCI Secretary Lele told PTI today.

But Lele is worrying without reason. Experts say there’s no room for doubt.

Director of Nehru Planetarium, New Delhi, N Rathnasree said: “There has been a lot of confusion about the number of days in February 2000. People have been calling us up to clarify the matter. Many believe that February 2000 will have 30 days because of the accumulated seconds over the past 400 years.”

Rathnasree explains: “After the Gregorian calender was accepted globally in the 18th century, Year 2000 is the first century year that is also a leap year (the year is divisible by 400). Some people came up with the argument that the accumulated seconds of the past 400 years will now become the 30th day of February 2000.”

However, the director clarifies that February will not have 30 days in the year 2000 which is a leap year in both the Gregorian and Julian calenders. “According to calculation based on the principles of the Gregorian calender, the 30th day in February should happen only around the year 3000.”

In Nagpur, however, calendar-makers are panicking after local dailies quoted an article by J J Raval, Director of the Nehru Planetarium and Astronomical Research Centre at Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai. Raval was quoted as saying that there is a possibility of February 2000 being of 30 days. The existing Gregorian calendar does take into account the fact that the revolution period of the Earth around the Sun is not exactly 365 days, but slightly more than that. This accumulated time then results in a leap year after every four years. However, some extra seconds go on accumulating from the leap years, resulting in an extra day every 400 years. Since that cycle falls in the year 2000 AD, February next is likely to have 30 days, Raval concluded.

Naturally, the calendar-makers found it alarming. “We will be ruined if it turns out that February 2000 has 30 days instead of 29 as all of us have already published,” says Rajendra K Gupta from Harsh Poly Stamp, Mohan Nagar, Nagpur. “The entire stock of diaries and calendars published so far for next year will go to waste,” says Vinod Nangia of the Western Book Depot in Nagpur.

But their counterparts in Delhi are confident. Says Delhi Calender Association President M L Garg: “There has been a lot of misunderstanding about the number of days in February 2000. People are writing to us requesting authentic information as they cannot finalise dates for their projects. We are busy sending them clarifications stating that February 2000 has only 29 days, not a day more, not a day less.” Are you listening, Mr Lele?