Wish you a very happy and sparkling Deepavali

Seasons’ greetings and hearty Diwali wishes to you all!

Hope you've all had a spectacular and sparkling Diwali.

Now that the calmness has returned and the dust of the firecrackers has settled, I thought that I should touch upon a very 'touchy' point which gets raised on every occasion of Diwali: The issue of Firecrackers.

'Diwali’, or Deepavali as it is also known is a traditional Hindu festival celebrated in the latter half of the year. It marks the triumphant return of Lord Rama and his entourage back to the kingdom of Ayodhya after defeating Raavana, the powerful demon king of Lanka.

The people of Ayodhya, overjoyed on seeing their beloved prince return decked up their houses with oil lamps (Deepas or Deepams). Hence the name ‘Deepavali’.

Diwali, in many ways symbolizes the triumph of Good over Evil, of Light over Darkness, of Dharma (Virtue) over Adharma (vice).

Therefore, Diwali is celebrated in a big way by Hindus all over the world. In India, sweets are prepared and distributed. Workers get Diwali bonuses along with paid time off. The economy goes into overdrive as many stores offer great discounts on all goods and services. Business people wipe their slate clean and start a new account altogether.

The most prominent and enjoyable part of Diwali is the lighting of firecrackers. It is said that a loud noise and bright lights drive the evil away. Therefore, people burst a variety of firecrackers in droves to mark the festival.

Photo by Farhan Azam on Unsplash

This is a tradition which has been prevalent since ancient times, and will continue since.

However, there has been a petition by certain Indian citizens in recent years to ban the use of firecrackers. The reasons have been cited as under:

• The smoke and the dust emitted from these crackers cause a great deal of atmospheric and noise pollution. Our atmosphere is greatly polluted as it is, thanks to our indiscriminate use of fossil fuels.Why pollute it more?

• The smoke and the dust cause a plethora of respiratory and other health diseases and is in general, a hazard for the environment.

I was as shocked as many, when I first heard about this. How and why should we stop a tradition which has been ongoing since centuries?

But on the other hand, the people who have raised this petition do have a valid point. Doctors in New Delhi (one of India’s most polluted cities) have noted an increase in the number of cases of respiratory ailments in the city after Diwali. The same is the case with other cities.

What then is to be done on this case? Should we then put a stop to a centuries old tradition? Or should we continue the way we are without bothering about the health hazards?

For the solution, I think we have to consider both points of view.

We simply cannot let go of a tradition which has been continuing for centuries. For one, other countries do not forgo the use of firecrackers for their festivals such as the Chinese New year, Guy Fawkes day in the UK, the American Independence day etc. So why should we let go of our tradition?

But on the other hand, we simply cannot ignore the health and pollution hazard caused by their indiscriminate and wanton use.

So we have to come to a compromise:

• Reduce the number of hours for burning firecrackers. This will definitely reduce the pollution to a greater extent. Maybe 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM should suffice. Not anymore after that.

• Do not burst crackers near sensitive areas such as hospitals etc.

• Promote R&D to produce crackers which do not cause much of pollution, emit lesser smoke and are bio-degradable. (maybe it’s asking for too much, but companies should definitely think on those lines).

So let’s all put our heads together and come to a win-win situation.

Once again, here’s wishing you all a sparkling Diwali and a great year ahead!

Cheers!

Till the next Diwali!