A Fireworks Free Diwali

Before I begin!

Happy Diwali everyone! Hope you have a wonderful year ahead.

Let’s discuss how the festival has changed over a period of time. The festival is commonly called the festival of lights and the word Diwali breaks into a string of lights or earthen lamps.

When I was a kid, we used to burn a lot of firecrackers and as any other kid, it was the only thing I used to look forward to. I lacked the awareness about environment and pollution because fifteen years ago, it was not that widely campaigned.

However, as I grew up and I became more aware I reduced my usage but never stopped because it’s impossible to give up a habit which you have been following since childhood. We learn as we grow older and since 2011, my family is celebrating a complete firecracker free Diwali. Now, I get to do more fun things like making rangoli, eating a lot of sweets and meeting a lot of people. Festivals are all about the love and joy you share, not the pollution caused by fireworks.

Here is the rangoli that I made this year

View this post on Instagram

Mandatory Diwali Post! Hello insta fam🌸 hope you guys had a wonderful Diwali! Because I sure did. The Rangoli making was one of the most fun part of the day. I spent almost 4 hours to make this beautiful Rangoli but it was worth it. With music in the background and occasional dance breaks, it was so much fun! Also, thank you for so many Diwali greetings 🌸 it's always the more the merrier! Thank you for sending so many positive vibes from your end. Congratulations to everyone who embraced the fireworks free Diwali! We protected the atmosphere from being more polluted. And can I just say that Diwali sweets are the best!! I ate too much, chatted with a lot of people and lit earthen lamps! I am very happy and blessed to have so many wonderful people around me, including you guys! #photooftheday #diwali #happy #gratitude #instagram #instafam #rangoli #weekend #weekendvibes #friday #love #thankyou #specscladeyes #like #inktober #art #colour #vsco #vscoindia #followfriday #morning #fairylights #blessed #design

A post shared by S P E C S C L A D E Y E S (@specscladeyes) on Oct 20, 2017 at 12:45am PDT

And this year, the supreme court imposed a temporary ban on the sale of fireworks till Diwali, hoping it would control the pollution. And a lot of people started protesting and asking the supreme court to stop attacking their festival, they even accused the supreme court of interfering in the age-old customs and rituals.

But the festival was never about firecrackers anyway!

Despite the efforts, the toxicity level of Delhi this morning is very high. Because some people had last year leftovers, some bought the firecrackers in advance and some were happy to pay a hefty amount to get their hands on the firecrackers!

I saw multiple Instagram and Snapchat stories of people proudly flaunting their “treasured stash”. Okay, what are you so proud of?
Are you proud that you contributed to the pollution?
Are you proud that you are the reason why people are having trouble breathing?
Are you proud that you prefer momentary fun over health?
Seriously, what are you so proud of?

No matter what campaigns are launched or what all steps the government takes, it’s completely up to you and your mental capacity to think about the precious earth we are living on.

Here is the aftermath of our reckless celebration.

Visuals of #smog from #Delhi's Vijay Chowk pic.twitter.com/5d7S1ZViP7

— ANI (@ANI) October 20, 2017

I am hopeful of us being more aware by the coming year.

Thank you for reading.

Happy Diwali, once again!

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