The city decorated like a bride with sparkling lights is
back! That happy season with love among people and society bejeweled with lamps
is back! Diwali is back and like every year the festive season has brought with
it; the enthrallments, the enthusiasm, the joys, the hopes, the love!
The common love message people share with each other is
‘Have a happy and safe Diwali!’ Now, there is an obvious reason for the mention
of the word ‘SAFE’. The word ‘safe’, as we all know, is used because of the
association of firecrackers with Diwali. The original idea of the use of
fireworks and firecrackers is the recreation of the event of Lord Ram returning
to Ayodhya after the victory over Ravana. Another obvious fact! And we all know
that though the intent of fireworks may be joyous, its evolution and use has
been the cause of problems like people suffering from hypertension, high blood
pressure; environmental problems in the form of smoke and noise and also birds
fatality! While we don’t think of environment much, we at least have the
courtesy to wish fellow people ‘Have a happy and safe Diwali!’
With the rise of violent crackers that are bound to shake
you when they explode, the word ‘safe’ found its place in the wishes. Some
people loved the explosives and many forcefully loved it because they thought
this is the way to celebrate. Speaking against the disturbances that naughty
crackers caused was considered not so trendy for some while those who spoke
against it were considered non-trendy. Obviously, I am speaking about the mass
public and not the intellectuals. Even though the intellectuals did speak and
believed in crackers free Diwali, the thought did not have much reach. But then
with the age of internet, the ‘good’ realization and the awareness were a gift.
The co-growth of the social media and the smart-phones has made everyone aware
and the number of intellectuals is increasing at a rate never seen before. In the
resulting age of opportunities, there are many campaigns with the message ‘Say
NO to crackers!’ The campaigns are dedicated to their cause. Additionally, many
people have started recognizing that Diwali can be celebrated in a much better
way with only lights. There is no need of exaggerated show! The diyas are
enough, the simplicity is enough!
I was thinking about what will happen to fireworks
manufacturers if crackers are banned. A thought came to me what if
e-firecrackers are made! The barud (gunpowder)
free firecrackers! Maybe some kind of electric or programmable crackers! I
started researching on the internet. And this is how I ended up writing this
article.
Speaking a bit commercial, why would the major fireworks
manufacturing companies support the anti-crackers move. Why will they want to
stop their profit earning work? Just spare a thought; there are many people
involved in the business! How can we suddenly ask them to switch their source
of income from the stabilized industry to something else! Even if there has to
be a complete ban on crackers, it cannot be immediate. It cannot be
an overnight process. There should be a considerable time frame for them to
shift. Otherwise there will be no justice to the firecrackers industry. Even
then, there will be no fairytale ending to the ‘NO crackers’ movement. There
are emotions involved with profession. There will be no absolute end. While thinking this, I queried Google on how will the people be affected if crackers are banned. In India, the Supreme Court refused to impose a complete ban on fireworks in
late October 2015. The
fireworks industry in Tirupati, the largest in the country with over 800
fireworks factories, also supports over five lakh families. The picture below shows fireworks manufacturing in Sivakasi city.
Ok; not thinking commercially; thinking about the dangers
and un-necessity of the crackers; it is so very correct to not involve the barud (gunpowder), the explosion, the
thud in the moments of joy! But what if one wants to involve the sparkles, the
colors! What if one wants to see the sky filled with erupting sprinkles
synchronized with fusing noise and then disappearing into the eternity! The
little kids awestruck with creative crackers that make the golden lights rise,
rotate and dance in front of their little eyes! "Diwali
is known for fireworks, it is not complete without bursting crackers. So the
best way is to opt for eco-friendly crackers and save the environment without
dampening the festive mood," said Akhilesh Gupta, a businessman.
Now, this is interesting! There is no one solution if we
think of every perspective. But I feel we can be smart here. We can have a
responsible Diwali even if we use crackers. There are always golden mid-ways.
1. Fixed time for the use of crackers
We
do think that crackers should not be used after 10 pm. We blame the police, the
government and what not for not involving strict laws pertaining to this! But
can’t we do something ourselves? There are WhatsApp groups of societies,
communities, city locations, friends, etc. We can decide unanimously that we
shall adhere to fixed timings that will least affect the society. Do we need
the police to take the initiative?
2. Smartly purchasing crackers
A
flowerpot cracker is more delightful than a sutli bomb! Fireworks like sutli
bomb shall not be purchased. I strongly feel that the lover of sutli bomb is
actually a lover of gaining attention of the people or a lover of violence!
There are choices of chakris, the flowerpot and other low intensity delighting
fireworks if one looks for smartly. There is positivity regarding this. The bombs
that make loud noise have become less popular with people. A
fireworks dealer in city said, "Due to a decrease in demand of such
crackers, we have slashed the stock of bombs and other sound-producing
firecrackers by half this year. Even then, not even 50% of that stock is
expected to be sold this Diwali."
Interestingly, fireworks companies too are
coming up with a range of eco friendly crackers every year with as low price as
possible. The eco friendliness of the crackers being increased with each
passing year! Another
dealer said, "We are noticing an increase in demand of eco-friendly crackers
with each passing year and therefore, we have increased its stock this year by
50% from the last year."
3. Having scintillating sky shows at prominent locations only
Fireworks
like 1000 shots, 500 shots, etc. that lit up the sky are always a treat to the
eyes. But what about the birds! Obviously, they must be getting scared. It also
leads to their death. In
December 2011, 5000 birds died in Beebs, Arkansas due to fireworks. We
don’t even care for the number of bird fatalities due to crackers in India. I
did not find a single statistics.
But we can easily work upon the situation. What
if prominent areas of cities are only allowed for the use of sky shows! Like
the Queen’s necklace in Mumbai! (Shown in the pic below) The government and people can work on this
together; assigning suitable blocks of land to launch such crackers. If this is
implemented in a disciplined way, birds can find places away from such
locations where there is no such danger to them. There
should be promotion of commercial display of such fireworks rather than setting
of own pyrotechnic devices.
4. Innovation
The
fireworks industry shall always aim for continuous evolution. There is not only
Diwali, there is New Year’s Eve, there are marriages, there are occasions of
victories of netas (politicians),
etc. Crackers are part of every celebration. The industry should look out for
chemical engineers, innovators to work on developing eco friendly formulas. The
fireworks manufacturers should always aim for environmental friendly goals to
achieve along with profit.
We can easily celebrate Diwali in our own way. All that matters is being responsible. If we think of everyone's perspective we can have a grand festive season. So, let's have a 'smart' Diwali and thus a 'safe' Diwali!
Happy Diwali 2015!
-JATIN S W
