Celebrating a Guilt-Free Diwali

“The greatness of a culture can be found in its festivals ”

Diwali or Deepavali is the festival of lights celebrated by millions of Indians to mark the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya. This festival is an important part of India’s culture and acts like a thread that binds the entire country together.

More than 2500 years ago, when Diwali was first celebrated, the festival was celebrated by lighting diyas, adorning houses with flowers, meeting friends and family and cooking the Diwali special delicacies. People bought new clothes as a way of showcasing their culture and showered their love on one-another by giving gifts .

But today, Diwali has taken a totally different meaning. Over the years, it has become a platform to show off one’s wealth. Instead of decorating houses with flowers, we use electric lights, gifts are no longer a token of love and clothes have become more about the latest trends than a way of presenting one’s culture.

But, it is the practice of bursting crackers that has been harming us the most. Crackers or fireworks are small explosive devices designed to produce a large amount of noise along with visual effects. Started in India in the 19th century, these have been harming nature ever since.

Crackers produce a lot of noise, leading to noise pollution. They also release harmful toxicants in the environment, leading to air pollution. Every year, after Diwali, the air in India turns hazardous and air-quality is labelled ‘severe’. This leads to people suffering from any respiratory diseases like asthma, lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Also, many firecracker factories employ young children forcibly, giving rise to child labour.

Crackers have never been an essential part of celebrations but have been made important due to frequent use. As a result, wrong interpretation of rituals has caused a lot of harm to Mother Nature.

It is high time now that we realise our mistakes and take steps to correct them. We must stop this process of bursting crackers so that we can have a guilt- free Diwali with no pollution so that the generations after us can enjoy nature as much as we have.

As Margaret Mead has rightly said, “Never doubt that a group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” So, let us all pledge to remember our culture, take time to spend with our family and friends and have an eco-friendly and guilt-free Diwali.