Diwali, the festival of lights is one of the most awaited, most beautiful, most important festival out of all the festivals of India. People dress up in beautiful new clothes, exchange gifts, give blessings, eat sweets and other yummy dishes, create beautiful rangolis, decorate their homes, light up their homes with diyas and even LED lights. Also, people burst firecrackers, which apparently is the most important part about celebrating Diwali in a proper manner.
Why? Why has it become so important to burst harmful bombs instead of sitting with your family and having a good time? Let’s discuss everything from the beginning.
So, in northern India, Diwali is celebrated because during this certain period, very long ago, King Ram returned to Ayodhya (read the full story on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali) after defeating the bad ol’ Ravana. People lit the way for him using clay lamps since it was a moonless night. People celebrated his return with utmost happiness, exchanged gifts, sweets, lit up their houses in honor of their King Ram. It was a huge celebration and since that time, every year, Diwali was celebrated with joy. There are other believed origins of Diwali too, but every origin mentions the victory of good over evil and huge celebrations.
This is the concept of Diwali, which has obviously changed over the years. New ways were found to celebrate Diwali. One of them was, fireworks. I wasn’t there when it started (obvio) but I’m pretty sure that the first time they burst crackers on Diwali, the sky might have looked beautiful, I can imagine that because these fireworks have become an integral part of Diwali.
Look, now I’m all up for lightening up the sky with beautiful fireworks but what people don’t understand is that there should be a limit. And, people have been crossing that limit for years now and there have been consequences. An example of that was noted last year, when the day after Diwali, nothing was visible. The news reported that the pollution level of Delhi (which already remains pretty high) had reached its peak and the air was poisonous to breath in. Delhi was rated as the most polluted city that day. I remember having school cancelled for days and my parents forbidding me leave the house. I heard that many, many people fell sick (old people and small children especially)
This year, I expected that obviously, after what happend last year, people might have learnt a lesson, right? No. A few days ago, the supreme court banned the sale of fireworks but it was too late. Most people had already bought their goods and then there’s black market.
Last night, when everyone outside was having ‘fun’, bursting useless bombs outside, I was just sitting in my room, hating the world for being so disregarding, wondering, why do these people like these sorts of things when they can be enjoying and celebrating in other harmless ways?
In U.S.A., on 4th of July, there is a show of fireworks, which happens during nighttime. The sky looks beautiful. Not all people get involved in the bursting process and just enjoy the view. I wish I could do that. But honestly, It’s not enjoyable anymore because the sky fireworks are less and the stupid loud bombs are more in number (nonetheless, both cause so much of pollution).
There’s this special bomb which has like 1000 little bombs attached to it. Once you fire it up, it starts bursting and keeps bursting till like 20 minutes or something. Imagine that loud obnoxious sound,not for just 20 minutes, but for 8-9 hours.
Why do people enjoy bursting these bombs which make so much noise? I can’t think of logical reasons.
An author responded to the Supreme Court ban by saying that they can’t ban the fireworks because it’s a tradition which has been going on for years and years. Well, tell me one thing, how can one respect a ‘tradition’ which causes so much noise pollution, air pollution, diseases and even deaths? How can one follow a tradition which might not even allow them to see another year ?
This morning (the morning after diwali) I woke up and looked through the window and saw heavy smoke covering the buildings. Also, I heard a few loud ‘BOOM’s. Apparently, It’s fun for people to hear the loud obnoxious noises. It’s not beautiful. It’s sad. Apparently, the good news is that the air quality isn’t as severe as it was last year. But since the pollution level is higher than it should be, is it really a good news?
The air smells entirely of smoke and I can’t stop coughing. Why does it have to be this way? I feel so bad for the birds outside. They did nothing wrong and still, they have to suffer, because the humans wanted to follow their ‘tradition’.
Why have people forgotten the values of Diwali? Why do people hate these consequences but don’t regret that they caused it? What is the world coming down to?
I feel really sad today. I wonder, when will people realize what truly causes happiness and what doesn’t.
These last two Diwalis have been a disaster for me and many others. I can only hope that the next year would be better and that some magical thing will make people regret their actions and that the next Diwali would be a peaceful one.
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