Diwali is festival of lights, happiness and mutual sharing. It is opportunity to move from darkness towards light, to kindle new hopes and to share happiness with family and society. With time, way of celebrating this festival has also changed considerably. Decoration of houses, hustle bustle of markets, exchange of gifts and sound of crackers have become part of it. But real happiness of festival can remain intact only when it does not cause harm to anyone's health, safety, environment or economic condition. Therefore instead of limiting Diwali only to light and decoration, it is necessary to think about celebrating it in safe, clean and overall healthy manner. During Diwali biggest concern is air and noise pollution caused by crackers. Smoke of crackers increases amount of harmful particles in air. Its effect can be more on children, elderly and people with respiratory problems. Along with this, loud sounds become cause of trouble for animals-birds also besides humans. Reducing use of crackers and giving preference to light and collective celebration can be good step in this direction.
Safety also is important aspect of this festival. Incidents like burns, eye injuries and fire occur due to crackers. Children should not be allowed to burst crackers alone. Where crackers are used, there arrangement of open space, water and first aid should be there. Caution is necessary while using electric strings and lamps also. While decorating in houses and shops, danger of catching fire should be kept in mind. For clean Diwali attention needs to be given towards waste management also. Before festival cleaning of houses and surroundings is done, but leaving garbage on roads, markets and public places after celebration makes this hard work futile. Empty boxes of crackers, plastic decoration, boxes of sweets and other waste should be collected properly and put at designated places. Waste can be reduced by giving preference to reusable material and natural things for decoration.
Meaning of healthy Diwali is also to keep balance in eating-drinking. During festival use of sweets and fried things increases. On this occasion it is necessary to pay attention towards quality and cleanliness of eatables. Adulterated or very old sweets can be harmful for health. Shopping from reliable shops, fresh food and balanced diet should be given preference. In gifts also instead of only expensive items, healthy and useful things can also be chosen. Social aspect of this festival is also equally important. When many families remain deprived of even basic joys of festival due to economic crunch, then our feeling of sharing our happiness with others becomes more important. Helping needy families, spending time with elderly living alone and appreciating contribution of sanitation workers and other people giving services can make festival meaningful. Avoiding unnecessary expenditure and show-off and celebrating happiness with simplicity is also need of time. Government departments also have important responsibility on this occasion. There should be prior preparation for health services, fire fighting arrangements, cleanliness, traffic and monitoring of pollution. People should also take care of safety and cleanliness of their surroundings while following rules.
Purpose of Diwali is to share happiness and light. If on this occasion air remains clean, people remain safe, eating-drinking is healthy, public places remain clean and needy are also included in happiness then importance of this festival can increase further. Real light spreads not only with lamps burning in houses, but also with our behaviour, sharing and responsibility.
- Davinder Kumar
