Diwali means joy to (almost) everyone around me. That includes a previous version of myself until a few years back!
Early morning oil-bath, competition to burst the first cracker in the apartment/street, showing off by bursting the fanciest and flashiest crackers, finding out where atom bombs are being burst and staying safely away from it, looking at all those million lamps in the streets, enjoying the lights and sounds in the sky.
Early morning oil-bath, competition to burst the first cracker in the apartment/street, showing off by bursting the fanciest and flashiest crackers, finding out where atom bombs are being burst and staying safely away from it, looking at all those million lamps in the streets, enjoying the lights and sounds in the sky.
Eating tasty sweets/food specially prepared for the occasion or bought from shops, exchanging sweets with neighbors/relatives, visiting relatives/grandparents, watching special Diwali programs on TV, watching new movies released on Diwali, calling and greeting others.
Buying more crackers because every single one has been burst, taking up the challenge of crossing a street/ground from one end to another while people are bursting crackers all over, alerting others when they are about to step on live bombs, walking through all the paper bits strewn across the street, visiting a Temple, playing and shouting with friends/relatives.
Wishing people on Facebook/Twitter, sleeping like a robot in the afternoon after all that action in the morning, lighting up homes with lamps, watching others' homes lit with lamps, sending Happy Diwali SMS/greetings to friends, feeling bad about the rain that interrupts cracker-bursting sessions, shopping for the best deals due to Diwali discounts.
Buying loads of new clothes, wearing (at least) two different sets of new clothes, decorating homes, dressing up kids in the best of colors, traveling, taking loads of photos/videos and sharing them on Facebook, lighting and playing with flowerpots and chakras, launching rockets that illuminate the skies with different colors, watching the Diwali special movie shown in the TV.
What Diwali Means to Me:
Silence & Doing Nothing.
Not bursting crackers because they cause noise & pollution, because they frighten away dogs/birds and other creatures that live among us, because it will inconvenience elders, because crackers make it difficult for others to move around, because accidents and burned clothes can be avoided.
Knowing that crackers have been made using exploited child labor in rural communities who would otherwise have had a chance to get educated/be free if not for these factories.
Wanting to reduce the environmental impacts due to all those chemicals getting into the soil and mixing with ground/water, wanting to reduce the heaps of waste, wanting to save trees, wanting to prevent damage to a few ears, wanting to reduce air, land, and noise pollution.
Being a conscious citizen by not contributing towards global warming, being fine and even proud of putting the interests of voiceless beings - animals, plants, elders, toddlers, etc. before our own.
Growing up to realize that bursting crackers which cause so much damage to the environment are not the only way to have all the fun, finding happiness in others' joyful faces and words, connecting with my soul through music unmindful of all those loud sounds outside.
I gave up bursting crackers before a few years. Now I feel Evolved. Empowered. Responsible. Content.
Switch to a greener earth. Switch to renewable energy.
Declaration: This post has been written for an IndiBlogger contest sponsored by Pepsico. Have a look at the GharwaliDiwali website and their promo video -
