I reckon I have an extremely sensitive pair of ears. I
flinch when somebody raises his or her voice and shudder when that high decibel
honking of a passing lorry catches me off the hook. I clench my teeth when I
ride next to a lorry and cartwheel with silent gratitude when the same lorry
honks feebly. No wonder I find bursting Diwali crackers an acute nuisance. I do
not remember touching a loud cracker in my lifetime but for the mild kuruvi
vedi. Dang, I was scared with that one too! I love sparklers, saatais and adore
watching the black serpents mysteriously cropping out of that teensy little
black button. I like watching those novelty crackers that vroom to the sky and
spread spatially with flashes of stars in myriad colors – they are simply
fantastic! But there ends my tolerance for crackers. I shut my ears tight for
the rest and pray they be done with soon.
I understand that as Indians we have every right to rejoice
the slaying of evil Narakasuran. What I do not understand is how irresponsible
we can be by being blind to what is reality.
We burst crackers and thereby are the direct cause of noise, air and land pollution. We have polluted our planet enough and this just adds to the insanity. Post bursting, the smoke stays and clings to our food. We brush this off with such foolish nonchalance when it can indeed be highly poisonous. Earth as such does not belong to humans alone; there are other creatures to be valued as well. Crackers are dangerous for animals. When was the last time you saw your cuddly dog happily woofing by your side during Diwali? Birds go missing and are nowhere in sight. Only after the deafening cacophony subsides do the other mortals come out. We of course know that very young children are employed to manufacture these crackers. To their parents or relatives it may be the only best thing that they can possibly do. Just replace those helpless kids with your child, nephew or niece – is it not agonizing to watch them waste away when they could instead march their way to school? Is it really important that we dance and enjoy bursting those crackers made from the unnecessary toil of those little kids? Not to forget the less healthy – there are people living amongst us with heart problems and old people can definitely not bear the cracker clamour.
Is it not our obligation to consider all these before lighting that doom of a cracker? The festival can be pompous, grand, out of the world and everything to render it a visual treat. Exchange sweets, wear new clothes, educate newbies to the Diwali story, sing songs, party hard, picnic with friends and family. Nevertheless, edify people against bursting crackers to make this world a healthy place to live in.
Think before you light a cracker next time.
We burst crackers and thereby are the direct cause of noise, air and land pollution. We have polluted our planet enough and this just adds to the insanity. Post bursting, the smoke stays and clings to our food. We brush this off with such foolish nonchalance when it can indeed be highly poisonous. Earth as such does not belong to humans alone; there are other creatures to be valued as well. Crackers are dangerous for animals. When was the last time you saw your cuddly dog happily woofing by your side during Diwali? Birds go missing and are nowhere in sight. Only after the deafening cacophony subsides do the other mortals come out. We of course know that very young children are employed to manufacture these crackers. To their parents or relatives it may be the only best thing that they can possibly do. Just replace those helpless kids with your child, nephew or niece – is it not agonizing to watch them waste away when they could instead march their way to school? Is it really important that we dance and enjoy bursting those crackers made from the unnecessary toil of those little kids? Not to forget the less healthy – there are people living amongst us with heart problems and old people can definitely not bear the cracker clamour.
Is it not our obligation to consider all these before lighting that doom of a cracker? The festival can be pompous, grand, out of the world and everything to render it a visual treat. Exchange sweets, wear new clothes, educate newbies to the Diwali story, sing songs, party hard, picnic with friends and family. Nevertheless, edify people against bursting crackers to make this world a healthy place to live in.
Think before you light a cracker next time.
