I asked one my friend how he would like to spend Diwali this time. He said he will offer prayers, gift family and friends some stuff. Then he stopped abruptly, stretched his muscles and twisted his lips sideways, and then he began speaking again, “Actually, I will ask my wife and children to go some miles away from the house.”

That confused me a great deal, so I asked why he would do such a thing. He replied, “I’m going to set my gas cylinder on fire, this way everyone will come to know that I’m celebrating Diwali.”

He was kidding, of course. We have different version of stories to tell why we celebrate Diwali. But what is common is that we exchange good wishes, and we are in high spirit of celebration. Some of us wear new cloths; and we light candles and small clay lamps; decorate our homes with colored powder; present gifts, etc. Most importantly, Diwali being the festival of light, we lit our homes; this is to signify the victory of good over evil.

But Diwali for many people (children mainly) is just a festival of bursting crackers, playing with artificial guns, which creates noise and pollution. I remember, as a kid, I once burnt my hands while trying to light a firecracker (or ‘atom bomb’, as we use to call them, then). I had to see a doctor and for days I could not use my hands to perform a few functions. We do many stupid things in life, but as we evolve we learn to differentiate between right and wrong.

I don’t believe burning firecrackers drive evil away, (candles and Diyas are enough for that) you just burn your and your parents’ hard-earned money to ashes by doing so. As I write this post, I can hear the sounds of firecrackers, so loud as to damage my eardrums.  A politician lives nearby. Politicians and their kith and kin know how to waste money. But even the less privileged ones will not go dissatisfied today, just that they will burn only a handful of firecrackers.

The problem is, with all these noises and the smokes that emerge, all the birds and the street dogs get scared and they slowly and hesitantly move to safer places. Health related issues also emerge due to the smokes that spread after bursting firecrackers. We don’t feel good with such noises, do we? The use of firecrackers may cause many injuries, some maybe severe; therefore, for the better of all, refrain from using them.

Wish you all a happy Diwali!

Copyright © 2013 RAMU DAS