Diwali - The festival of lights. It literally translates to 'a series of lamps'. It is said to be a celebration of the victory of the good over the evil. There are many legends and stories associated with it. It is said that the celebration of Diwali started in the Treta Yugam. When Lord Rama returned to his capital, Ayodhya, after defeating the evil king Ravana, the citizens of Ayodhya lit lamps all over Ayodhya in celebration. Ever since, lamps are lighted all over the country, every year on the day of Diwali.
A lamp signifies light, knowledge and wisdom, the absence of evil and, of course, celebration. Fire is the soul of a lamp. Fire signifies valour, courage, and victory. Initially, the celebration of Diwali was mainly about lighting lamps, making and sharing sweets and performing special prayers. Eventually, with the growth of sciences, firecrackers were introduced as a way of celebration.
Firecrackers were initially simple bright things which burnt with colour and bright flames. Slowly, some explosive crackers were introduced for the thrill of it. But off late, it is only these 'bombs' that dominate the festival itself. Also, since there is not much to see in the bursting of bombs, people have started bursting them all the time. Whether it be morning, afternoon, evening or night, the air is filled with booms and bangs. The bombs are burst everywhere, every street and every corner. There are also some very powerful kinds of bombs, making a very loud boom.
But is this the true spirit of Diwali? Today, during Diwali, the streets look like battle fields! Bombs bursting in front of every house! It is also a hurtful reminder of the fact that the people have forgotten the true spirit of Diwali. Forget Diwali, they have even forgotten how to act humane. Every time a bomb is burst, the large sound that it produces startles babies and aged people. Heart patients are affected and so are the mentally ill. It affects the babies even when they are in the womb. Why limit it to just humans! It affects even the birds and animals. Birds are scared out of their nests and animals are too scared to be anywhere. They just run wildly in fear on the roads. Animals too have young ones which could easily get scared. A cat gave birth to 3 kittens just 2 days before Diwali and today it was too scared to even drink some milk. I saw dogs running and trying to hide in whatever nooks and corners they find in our homes, and then being mercilessly shooed away by the house owners. I saw a dog trying to save its puppy from the bomb and the puppy standing perplexed between two houses where bombs were being burst, too scared to run either way and with eyes filled with fear, confusion and helplessness. Seriously, do we really need such crackers?
There was a time when Diwali was all about lights. Lamps were lit all day and all night and colourful bright crackers were burst in the nights. It was a time when Diwali was celebrated as a festival for all. A few days before Diwali, people used to go to the houses of everyone they knew to share sweets and wishes. On the day of Diwali, they'd light lamps all over, they'd wear new clothes given by the elders, they'd make more sweets to offer to the Gods, they'd go to the temple first thing in the morning and then would spend the rest of the day with their families in celebration. In the evenings they would light the lamps again and would start bursting crackers. This was a time for everybody. People in the whole street would get together, would share everything from wishes to crackers to sweets to clothes, the elders would watch the children bursting colourful crackers under the watchful eyes of their fathers and uncles. The women would now share the sweets made on that day with all their neighbours.The entire week in which Diwali falls would be filled with an air of spirituality and celebration. This was Diwali even 10 years ago.
Today, we say technology has developed. We have gained so much from it. But what about all that we have lost? Diwali, today, has become more of a ritual than a celebration. A ritual to burst noisy crackers all day. From around 10 days before Diwali, people start bursting bombs. Day and night the bombs go off with no prior warning. Nobody goes to anyone's house any more. They simply send the Diwali wished as sms's or tags on facebook or as e-cards. On the day of Diwali, people get up whenever they want, wear something new just for fun, and watch TV all day. When there's nothing good on TV they burst the bombs. Nobody lights lamps anymore and the night sky is as colourless as on any other day. People burst the bombs mostly, and so the elders don't come out of the house. Nobody shares anything with the neighbours, they don't even burst the bombs together. Instead, they compete on who's bomb makes more sound. They don't care that their attitude is hurting many humans, animals and birds around them. What once was a festival for all, is a mere ritual today, for we have become so modern. we have lost our humanity. We have lost our culture. We have lost the traditions, passed down to us but all our ancestors. We have brought down the glory of our civilization - the oldest and the most cultured of all civilizations on earth. We have lost everything. Yes, I am old school, but at this rate, who knows, the future generations might even consider it a day to burst the hideous bombs alone.
Happy Modern Diwali!
A lamp signifies light, knowledge and wisdom, the absence of evil and, of course, celebration. Fire is the soul of a lamp. Fire signifies valour, courage, and victory. Initially, the celebration of Diwali was mainly about lighting lamps, making and sharing sweets and performing special prayers. Eventually, with the growth of sciences, firecrackers were introduced as a way of celebration.
Firecrackers were initially simple bright things which burnt with colour and bright flames. Slowly, some explosive crackers were introduced for the thrill of it. But off late, it is only these 'bombs' that dominate the festival itself. Also, since there is not much to see in the bursting of bombs, people have started bursting them all the time. Whether it be morning, afternoon, evening or night, the air is filled with booms and bangs. The bombs are burst everywhere, every street and every corner. There are also some very powerful kinds of bombs, making a very loud boom.
But is this the true spirit of Diwali? Today, during Diwali, the streets look like battle fields! Bombs bursting in front of every house! It is also a hurtful reminder of the fact that the people have forgotten the true spirit of Diwali. Forget Diwali, they have even forgotten how to act humane. Every time a bomb is burst, the large sound that it produces startles babies and aged people. Heart patients are affected and so are the mentally ill. It affects the babies even when they are in the womb. Why limit it to just humans! It affects even the birds and animals. Birds are scared out of their nests and animals are too scared to be anywhere. They just run wildly in fear on the roads. Animals too have young ones which could easily get scared. A cat gave birth to 3 kittens just 2 days before Diwali and today it was too scared to even drink some milk. I saw dogs running and trying to hide in whatever nooks and corners they find in our homes, and then being mercilessly shooed away by the house owners. I saw a dog trying to save its puppy from the bomb and the puppy standing perplexed between two houses where bombs were being burst, too scared to run either way and with eyes filled with fear, confusion and helplessness. Seriously, do we really need such crackers?
There was a time when Diwali was all about lights. Lamps were lit all day and all night and colourful bright crackers were burst in the nights. It was a time when Diwali was celebrated as a festival for all. A few days before Diwali, people used to go to the houses of everyone they knew to share sweets and wishes. On the day of Diwali, they'd light lamps all over, they'd wear new clothes given by the elders, they'd make more sweets to offer to the Gods, they'd go to the temple first thing in the morning and then would spend the rest of the day with their families in celebration. In the evenings they would light the lamps again and would start bursting crackers. This was a time for everybody. People in the whole street would get together, would share everything from wishes to crackers to sweets to clothes, the elders would watch the children bursting colourful crackers under the watchful eyes of their fathers and uncles. The women would now share the sweets made on that day with all their neighbours.The entire week in which Diwali falls would be filled with an air of spirituality and celebration. This was Diwali even 10 years ago.
Today, we say technology has developed. We have gained so much from it. But what about all that we have lost? Diwali, today, has become more of a ritual than a celebration. A ritual to burst noisy crackers all day. From around 10 days before Diwali, people start bursting bombs. Day and night the bombs go off with no prior warning. Nobody goes to anyone's house any more. They simply send the Diwali wished as sms's or tags on facebook or as e-cards. On the day of Diwali, people get up whenever they want, wear something new just for fun, and watch TV all day. When there's nothing good on TV they burst the bombs. Nobody lights lamps anymore and the night sky is as colourless as on any other day. People burst the bombs mostly, and so the elders don't come out of the house. Nobody shares anything with the neighbours, they don't even burst the bombs together. Instead, they compete on who's bomb makes more sound. They don't care that their attitude is hurting many humans, animals and birds around them. What once was a festival for all, is a mere ritual today, for we have become so modern. we have lost our humanity. We have lost our culture. We have lost the traditions, passed down to us but all our ancestors. We have brought down the glory of our civilization - the oldest and the most cultured of all civilizations on earth. We have lost everything. Yes, I am old school, but at this rate, who knows, the future generations might even consider it a day to burst the hideous bombs alone.
Happy Modern Diwali!
