Is Deepavali without crackers an oxymoron?

Pic: Shree D N

Diwali or Deepavali, literally a row of lamps, is just round the corner. Spread over five days, it is the biggest festival for our family and our community. The biggest festivities are reserved for amavasya or New Moon day. We look forward to the festival of lights year after year.

During my childhood, I used to strongly associate crackers with the festival, but as years passed by, the focus shifted elsewhere. We stopped associating ‘firecrackers’ as core to Deepavali. Cleaning and white-washing the house, decorating with leaves and flowers, lighting dozens of earthen lamps, performing the puja, preparing traditional cuisines, greeting neighbours, friends and relatives – all of these took centre-stage.

In years of reading our scriptures or while researching on the festival for newspaper articles, I found no mention of chemical-laden crackers. My children have gradually reduced use of crackers. We have been creating awareness in the neighbourhood of Whitefield about the ill-effects of crackers. 

We continue to buy a couple of flower pots and sparklers – of the best make, with a declaration that its manufacturing was free of child labour. We have seen the immediate aftermath – my son’s wheezing goes up if he is near the smoke. The deafening din disturbs humans and animals alike. Senior citizens, infants and pets are the worst affected. Fireworks between 10 PM and 6 AM violate the court ban. We have a hard time in disposing of the toxic waste.

In 2015, the Union government gave an undertaking in the Supreme Court that a series of newspaper ads would be launched to create awareness about ill-effects of crackers. And we did see the campaign that followed. Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, too, has distributed posters and inserted newspaper ads in recent years to drive home the ‘green’ message. Each of us has to care for the environment. It is a 365-day effort. Let us pledge this Diwali to refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle; to treat each day as Earth Day. Happy Deepavali!

Comments:

  1. Ganesh Borhade says:

    Hello Pravir. Thanks for sharing

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Similar Story

Micro livelihoods connected to fishing at Pulicat face an uncertain future  

Environmental damage poses a threat to the fishing community dependent on Pulicat Lake, even as youngsters look to more lucrative professions.

Just as the ebb and flow of the Pulicat Lake sustains the fishing community residing in the surrounding villages, the destiny of the people employed in different traditional livelihoods here is intertwined with the fate of the water body. The people in the 250 villages depend on the rich lagoon ecosystem of the lake, which supports a web of different professions connected to fishing in one way or another. Apart from fisherfolk, who go into the sea to catch fish, there are people who unearth earthworms to sell as baits for fish to the fishers and women who make and…

Similar Story

Fisherfolk lament as environmental threats push Pulicat Lake to the brink of decline

As industrial pollution and climate change affect the delicate ecosystem of Pulicat Lake, villagers hold on to their dying livelihoods.

As the evening sun creates an orange hue over the shimmering waters of Pulicat Lake, the fishermen get ready to launch their wooden kattumarams (catamarans) for the boat race. The participants, sitting in the middle of their boats and rowing furiously, plunge ahead amidst the cheering of villagers, who have dropped by to witness the event. At least for a day, the fishing community and others, whose livelihoods depend on the marine ecosystem of the lake and sea, forget their troubles and have a good time. The boat race is a sort of affirmation by the village community around the…