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Whether you celebrate Diwali or not, I’m sure you’ve heard about this famous ‘festival of lights’ that is celebrated by Indians across the world regardless of caste.

Diwali marks the celebration of victory of the good over evil; and the Goddess Laxmi (Goddess of Wealth) is thanked for bestowing wealth & prosperity upon her devotees.

Whilst the entire concept and idea behind Diwali is great – I don’t like the way it affects the environment at all =(  Why can’t we just have an environmentally safe Diwali ?  I tend to voice this concern to whoever is willing to listen and I really hope it makes an impact (no matter how small).  With the way global warming is on the rise, just think about how much pollution we are adding to the natural environment.

If you can avoid the fire crackers; reduce the number of fairy lights and stick to using clay diyas – you’d definitely be helping the environment.

Wishing you all a Very Happy & Prosperous Diwali ! May you be blessed with all that your heart desires !

Related Articles

1. An Environmentally Safe Diwali – Is It Possible ? by Dazediva

2. Festival of Lights or Endangering the Environment ? by Dazediva

3. Celebrate An Environmentally Safe Diwali by Manisha Gutman

4. Crackers or Quakers by Ratna Khemnani

5. Firework Pollution by Madhumitta Dutta

6. A Must Read for Pet Owners : Dogs & Fireworks – Fear & Anxiety

diwali diwali greetings in blogosphere environmental awareness environmentally safe diwali harmful effects of firecrackers noise pollution pollution free diwali

Today, being Diwali, I couldn’t help but think back to one of my first few posts that I wrote on this blog titled ‘Festival of Lights … or Endangering The Environment’ … I had just moved to Bombay and was experiencing my ‘first real Diwali’ and I was just left in a state of shock !

Don’t get me wrong here … Diwali holds a significant meaning to the Indian community and is a form of a celebration of the new year.   Diwali is the ‘festival of lights’ and is often associated (and celebrated) with fireworks and bright lights.  However – I still can’t get my head around WHY we (the educated population) need to celebrate a festival with something like fire crackers that have such a detrimental impact on the human body AND the environment ?

Has it ever crossed your mind just how destructive this joyous festival can be ? Has it ever occurred to you that you could be aggravating and/or creating a health issue for yourself ? Have you ever stopped to consider just HOW SCARED animals must be with the loud bursts of the crackers ? 

With the increased levels of global warming, have you given any thought to just how much pollution we are adding to the natural environment ?  In my original post, I wrote about how the skies were filled with drifting smoke behind the light of the fireworks … we are BREATHING those very fumes and slowly damaging our lungs.

According to Dr Rajesh Chawla of Apollo Hospital in Delhi, the particles left over from fireworks can cause eye, throat and nose problems which may not be felt immediately but can develop into serious health hazards in the long-term.  

I was happy to read that the ministers of various states in India have been trying to promote a ‘green Diwali’.  Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal appealed to children to say no to crackers and celebrate Diwali with lights.  Dhumal said indiscriminate use of crackers alarmingly increases the level of toxic chemicals in the air and noise, which is not only detrimental to the environment but also affects the eyes, throat and respiratory system. 

The human ear takes in sound at about 60 decibels – and the majority of fire crackers can create more than 80 decibel noise – which can cause temporary hearing loss, restlessness, anger, and over-reaction to situations.  We are in essence  creating physiological damage for ourselves.  Did you know that on Diwali day the noise levels from the use of fire crackers etc can reach a deafening 140 decibels !! 

Imagine the state of animals (pets & strays alike) that have the ability to detect sounds that are too faint for the human ear cannot hear … they start to tremble; try to run away and hide .. at least our pets are safe .. but the strays .. my heart goes out to them ! I have seen some children (beggars & from good families) tie fire crackers to the ends of dogs / horses tails causing them to run in fear and hurt themselves ! It’s INHUMAN to this and is an act that is punishable by law. 

I could go on and on … but the point I guess I'm trying to make is that - the fireworks look great for a few minutes but have we ever really given a thought to the consequences that our bodies and the natural environment encounters after those few minutes ? 

Related Articles

1. Celebrate An Environmentally Safe Diwali by Manisha Gutman
2. Crackers or Quakers by Ratna Khemnani
3. Firework Pollution by Madhumitta Dutta
4. A Must Read for Pet Owners : Dogs & Fireworks – Fear & Anxiety

celebrating the new year diwali environmental awareness festival of lights rangoli designs

Today happens to be Diwali – which is the Indian new year.  We had a Diwali puja (prayer) at our office yesterday which was quite sweet. and probably the only ‘group’ thing we do as an office.

Diwali comes from the Sanskrit word Deepavali which means garland of lights.  Quite literally Diwali is known to many as the ‘festival of lights’.

My mum has been on a frantic cleaning spree the last 2-3 days because Diwali is an occasion for cleaning; sprucing up the home; painting walls and decorating the floor with attractive rangoli designs.   Rangoli is another Sanskrit word which signifying a creative expression of art by means of colours.

It’s been said that Rangoli is done outside the front door of the house so as to attract the Goddess Laxmi who brings wealth.

We’ve got our Diwali puja that’s going to start in a few minutes and I’ve just finished getting ready … Diwali is also quite an auspicious day to start any new ventures – so here’s some good wishes towards the start of my new consultancy as well – DMN Consultants =)

Before I leave you all and head for the puja, I’d like you to check out a previously written a post – Festival of Lights or Endangering the Environment which takes a look at the other side of the festivities that the majority of Indians partake in.  As much as Diwali is a great celebration to start of a new year – we should consider the effects of our actions on the globe as a whole.

Wishing you all a Very Happy Diwali and a Prosperous New Year with lots of health, wealth and happiness coming your way !

diwali festival fireworks lights people perceptions thoughts

"Deepawali" (also transliterated as "deepaawaLi") literally means a row of lamps (Sanskrit "deepa" = lamp and "aawaLi" = row, line). In due course, the popular name has shortened to Diwali, especially in northern India. While Deepavali is popularly known as the "festival of lights", a more appropriate significance is "the new year of luck and wealth" and it is celebrated with a variety of fireworks.

During the week prior and post Diwali, the city is full of lights … star lights lining the trees and buildings; and if you look towards the heavens, the dark skies are lit up with various colours – courtesy of the fireworks. Some of them are really truly quite spectacular and a visual treat for those who have never really experienced this before.

Having moved to India last year – I didn't quite experience 'Diwali' – so this year – I wanted to see what the big deal was and why everyone was so into it. Don't get me wrong – the concept and idea behind the festival and celebration is great (there's a lot history on this – so you might want to Google it or hit Wikipedia) but for the life of me – I couldn't and still can't understand why we would need to celebrate with such environmental harmful elements !!! and for a prolonged period of almost 2 weeks. I can get that for the first 3-4 days of the festival – people are celebrating … but after that … why use fireworks ??

It's bad enough that a city such as Mumbai is already heavily polluted and over populated. The city for me became almost unbearable during the week of Diwali due to the sheer nonsense I kept experiencing when out and about. Of course I admired the fireworks and also oohed & aahed at some of them … but really most of the time I just kept jumping in my car seat every time I heard an explosion !! This is NOT a good thing when one is actually sitting behind the wheel of a car !!! There were a few times when I got quite jumpy after seeing an explosion of light barely 2 feet away from me (and I almost hit the car in front of me) !!

As beautiful and in keeping with the spirit of the festival the fireworks are – I really don't see much sense in the excessive use of them. I noticed this more-so after taking a few videos of the firework displays on one of the main streets overlooking the water – known as Marine Drive. The after effects of fireworks are enough to give one reason to visit the doctors for a lung check-up !! There's just so much smoke everywhere and the fumes as well, not to mention the mess people leave behind on the streets or pathways where they play with the fireworks. Have a look at the video I took on Diwali day, it shows some really pretty displays but if you pay close attention you see all the smoke drifting across the skies :(

If that's not bad enough – the other day I was sitting with a friend on Marine Drive and we saw this family pull out of the car – Father, Mother, Grandma, and two twin girls – probably no more than 5 years old .. sweet right ? nice family outing … then I saw the huge bin bag the father was carrying and proceeding to empty out onto the 'seats' made along the divider. It was just left me a bit gob-smacked that here comes a family with a bag full of fireworks (even though festivities stopped last week!) and were just going to sit around and entertain their children with this. So I began to wonder – why couldn't they have done that within their own building / house with the rest of the people in the city. To be fair – I even thought that perhaps the kids were sick the previous week and perhaps that's why it was small private show for them.

Now to the amusing part of it all … the father and mother went about lighting sparklers, small rockets, and twisters on the ground whilst the twins … they just showed No Interest whatsoever in what their parents were doing. The grandma was just sitting there trying to engage one of the twins to at least hold the sparkler in her hand and twirl it around ! I only got around to capturing the below on video about 15-20 minutes AFTER they'd arrived so it may not have the impact I want it to have .. but it's well worth watching (and hearing my commentary if I say so myself heheh)

The point I guess that I'm trying to make is that - the fireworks look great for a few minutes but have we ever really given a thought to the consequences our natural environment faces after those few minutes ? In the above example - was it really necessary for the parents to continue lighting up fireworks for almost 45 minutes when their children were not really quite 'into it' ?

Fireworks take many forms to produce the four primary effects: noise, light, smoke, and floating materials such as confetti. Fireworks produce smoke and dust that may contain residues of heavy metals, sulfur-coal compounds and some low concentration toxic chemicals. These by-products of fireworks combustion will vary depending on the mix of ingredients of a particular firework. (check google for more info).

There are various concerns about the effects of fireworks - but hey - who pays attention to them when used for a celebration right !!

Pollutants from fireworks raise concerns because of potential health risks associated with hazardous by-products. People suffering from asthama or multiple chemical sensitivity the smoke from fireworks may aggravate existing health problems. Environmental pollution is also a concern because heavy metals and other chemicals from fireworks may contaminate water supplies and because fireworks combustion gases might contribute to such things as acid rain which can cause vegetation and even property damage.

The most obvious and undisputed fact is that fireworks leave behind a considerable amount of solid debris, including both readily biodegradable components as well as non degradable plastic items. Concerns over pollution, consumer safety, and debris have restricted the sale and use of consumer fireworks in many countries. However it doesn't appear to be a restriction placed on the Indian consumers within India :(