DIWALI OF LIGHTS, NOT NOISE

Diwali of lights ,not noise

Right from childhood days I was taught and made to
believe that Diwali is a festival of lights in our country.  As I sit back on my easy
chair and think vividly I wonder how far this is true. Is Diwali only a
festival of lights or beyond that? There is a loud deafening  ‘boom boom’
or say ‘bang bang’ which awakens me from my deep thoughts (Diwali is
round the corner). So got the answer Diwali is now festival of bombs and
crackers in the 21^st century..

Is Diwali really not possible without crackers or
atleast some alternative ?? Can I ever expect a peaceful Diwali in the years to
come? We teach children every year very religiously that we should celebrate a
environmental friendly Diwali… But how far do we as adults follow it in true
sense. People in India are well aware of the terrible effects of firecrackers
both to the environment and health. Yet, turning a blind eye, parents are
encouraging their children to burst crackers by spending thousands on them. In
terms of health India has not been prospering but steadily declining over the
years  Crackers add more to it.

Ofcourse I do come across banners and posters which
have loud messages such as- ‘Say no to crackers I have asthma’, ‘Don’t burst
crackers burst away your ego’ and so on. But how powerful have they been in
conveying the message to the masses, I am not sure. Yes, we all know that noise
and air pollution  does lead to high
blood pressure, hearing loss, asthma, sleep disturbances and even cardiac
arrest. 

So what are we waiting for. Lets not make bursting
crackers an essential part of Diwali from this year.. I feel that instead of
selecting traditional chemical crackers this Diwali, we should go for
eco-friendly ones. Eco-friendly crackers are made of recycled paper and the
sound produced by these is under the decibel limit defined by the Pollution
Board (read it sometime back in a newspaper). These crackers produce paper
fluffers and different coloured lights instead of sound on bursting. Atleast
lets make a beginning to a peaceful Diwali.. If you and I can do it then others
too will follow..  

This Diwali we should not burst chemical crackers
but burst and spread the message of happiness, brightness and joy to all our
near and dear ones. Come let us all make a difference this DIWALI..

I TAKE THE LEAD, HOW ABOUT YOU?