Follow Your Heart

Hello friends and bloggers! Wish you all a very Happy and prosperous Diwali. Talking about Diwali, it’s a Hindu festival which marks the triumph of the good over the evil. On this day, Lord Ram finally returned to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana, completing 14 years of exile. This festival is popularly known as the ‘Festival of Lights’ and is celebrated with great pomp and glory across India. People embellish their homes with beautiful rangolis, diyas, lamps, lighting, etc. They prepare variety of sweets, pray to Goddess Lakshmi for health, love and prosperity. And the most awaited and exciting element during Diwali are definitely ‘Crackers’. For kids, Diwali means nothing but burning Crackers! 😀 I even overheard a kid in my mom’s tuition giving a speech about Diwali and all she mentioned were crackers, haha!

As I’ve been reading and listening every year and even since the last few days, people have become skeptical to the idea of Crackers on Diwali. Why should we not burn crackers on Diwali? There are so many festivals that we celebrate, for example, take Dussehra, we do burn the Ravana every year which signifies the termination of the Evil. And we do burn crackers at that time, why does nobody object? We do burn crackers when India wins a cricket match, why does nobody object? We do burn crackers on New Year, on marriages, on every other celebration, why does nobody object?

Though, even I’m not so obsessed with crackers, it’s a general observation from my side. Why is Diwali targeted every year? Like other festivals, it is a festival too. Just like we burn the Ravana on Dussehra, like we play colours on Holi, like we sacrifice animals on Eid, like we fly kites on Sankranti. Similarly, we burn crackers on Diwali. That is it. When you do not object crackers on other occasions, why merely Diwali? Yes, it does lead to pollution, but this amount is nothing when compared to the pollution that we’re contributing into each day.

Why do all the environmentalists wake up only on Diwali? Each one of us is contributing everyday, every moment into environmental pollution, then what difference will it make if we don’t burn crackers for a single day? Pollution occurs on a daily basis, hence it is unfair to target a festival which lasts for just one day. Can we imagine our lives without mobiles, tv, refrigerators and air conditioners?

Can we imagine transportation without trucks, jeeps, trains and airplains? Can we avoid aluminum, thermocol, polythene, plastic, glass, fertilizers and paints?  Can we stop factories from producing fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides and other harmful chemicals? Can we stop engines, power plants, industrial plants, chemical plants? All these are adding to pollution every moment, every second, why do we have to become an environmentalist only on one day out of the 364 others?

Firecrackers and light are the symbols of joy and merrymaking. The sound of crackers lets the world know about the celebration. Fire is known as an element for purifying things. Bursting crackers is a way of cleansing negativity and pessimism from a person’s life and letting positivity and optimism adorn him. There also is a scientific reason behind bursting crackers. It is said that the monsoons are the time when insects and mosquitoes breed. Bursting crackers kills all these mosquitoes and insects which is quite a relief for homemakers as cleaning houses just gets easier for them. 😛

There’s only one day when we celebrate joy and love, why not enjoy it to our heart’s content? Why steal that beautiful smile from all the children’s faces? Why not let them have all the fun, after all Diwali occurs only once an year! It is one of the most awaited festivals in India. Why not share happiness? Why not share love? Let them live to their fullest for a day!

Here’s a funny little comic for you all. Hope you enjoy.

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With this, I wish you all a very Happy Diwali. May God bless you all with happiness, health and success. Don’t kill your heart, don’t kill your children’s heart, let them burst crackers if they wish to! Keep writing, keep shining!

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