Let This Diwali Be Filled With The Right Light

Happy Diwali!!!!

Deepavali is the time to light 'deepams' in your life. All day long we celebrate our vibrant lives, and seek to connect with friends, relatives, whom we haven't met in a while. In a way, it is a magical time of the year when the whole city is lit up, we thank each other for what we have given to each other, and look forward to giving more. But by a sad twist of fate, Deepavali has come to signify to a a large fraction of the population, nothing more than bursting crackers. Yes, when I was small(er) ( :) ) I looked forward to buying crackers, and bursting them, though like any girl I was not fond of loud noises(leave that to the guys).

Plus, our world is a fragile place. I chose to burst no crackers today, and I was saddened to see birds taking shelter in the thick undergrowth near my house, hiding from the noise and the smoke that surrounded our neighbourhood today. All day long yesterday, I felt a little left out( as I have been feeling for the past three years) that crackers do not thrill me the same way they used to do before. But I have come to realise, that it is a change for the better. I might feel this way, but for the next one week, I shall step out of my house onto the clean road(as opposed to other houses with paper strewn in front of them, with charred withered bits of long-gone atom bombs) and be happy I did not contribute a shred of my time, and a penny of my parent's money, to this destruction.

BANG FIRECRACKERS

Oh, I may seem melodramatic, but listen to your conscience. Are we overshadowing a culture that is meant to share sweets, rejoice in 'oneness' and come together to live better, and see the whole world in a 'new light' or are we supposed to cloud our thoughts(literally) in smoke and choke down our morals for a few minutes pleasure, a few pretty snapshots, and for a few seconds of the beauty of the lit up skies?

Think and decide. And for those of you who are not familiar with Deepavali, this is just one side to the festival and the saddest. The festival is close to the heart of many, and will always remain so, for all the right reasons.

Lighting up my life,

-- ☼ Sunny ☼