I used to burst a lot of crackers when I was a kid. The fireworks which make no sounds looked pretty. But when I was a kid, I never burst those. They were way too expensive and made no sound! That seemed rather counter-intuitive. We paid every buck for each decibel. Also, it was a sign of great courage among us kids to be able to burst crackers that made loud sounds. So we burst crackers like atom bomb (so we called it) or box bomb, sutali bomb, Lakshmi bar and Lawangi. We bought crackers a few weeks before Diwali, kept them in the sun. We believed that keeping crackers in the sun dried them and as a result helped them reach their highest noise making potential! On the first day of Diwali, we woke our neighbourhood up at 5:00am by bursting these loud monsters. And this make-loud-sounds-and-consider-that-the-biggest-fun-thing-in-the-world continued all through our Diwali vacation. Back then, we had a whole 20 days school leave for Diwali. What fun, we thought.
Anyway, thankfully I cannot celebrate Diwali in that manner anymore. This aversion to loud-sound-creating-crackers had started earlier, but after I noticed a dog get utterly scared of the crackers and run around desperately trying to find a shelter, I could never again bring myself to burst crackers. I wish I had made friends outside of human beings earlier. I wish I had noticed those scared puppies in the colony where I used to burst crackers. I wish I cared for someone other than human beings when I was growing up. Anyway, better late than never. I am happy I do not celebrate Diwali by bursting loud crackers anymore.
Neither do I have any willingness to preach about celebrating a quieter Diwali, nor do I have a moral right to do so (given that I had been guilty of the crime myself). However, I wish that this Diwali you make friends with some creature other than a human being. A bird, a squirrel, a cow, a cat, a buffalo, a mouse, a tree. Just anything other than a human being. I also hope you all have a safe and happy Diwali and a prosperous new year!
Anyway, thankfully I cannot celebrate Diwali in that manner anymore. This aversion to loud-sound-creating-crackers had started earlier, but after I noticed a dog get utterly scared of the crackers and run around desperately trying to find a shelter, I could never again bring myself to burst crackers. I wish I had made friends outside of human beings earlier. I wish I had noticed those scared puppies in the colony where I used to burst crackers. I wish I cared for someone other than human beings when I was growing up. Anyway, better late than never. I am happy I do not celebrate Diwali by bursting loud crackers anymore.
Neither do I have any willingness to preach about celebrating a quieter Diwali, nor do I have a moral right to do so (given that I had been guilty of the crime myself). However, I wish that this Diwali you make friends with some creature other than a human being. A bird, a squirrel, a cow, a cat, a buffalo, a mouse, a tree. Just anything other than a human being. I also hope you all have a safe and happy Diwali and a prosperous new year!
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