Not many of us may remember the time Deepavali was just a festival of lights. Today, the priority seems to be different — bursting fire crackers.
People enjoy firing crackers — making them explode with choking smoke and deafening noise — to celebrate the victory of good over evil. They think twice about donating to the homeless but are happy to let their money go up in smoke. We find a competition among people to determine whose rockets are bigger and crackers louder. If every individual who buys fire crackers decides that the environment is much more important, Deepavali may go back to being the joyous festival of lights again.
Shruthi Ramachandra,
Bangalore
