In most Indian cities Diwali has become a festival of noise and street pollution, rather than a festival of lights. I remember 3 or 4 years back we lived near Ulsoor lake and the Diwali there was horrendous. There were a group of young people bursting extremely loud crackers late into the night. It was just obscenely loud and it seemed that their parents also did not see either the pointlessness of the exercise or the insensitivity to the neighbours. (The neighbours should have protested, why that doesn't happen in India is a muse for a separate day, and why I personally don't protest, for yet another day).They have these grotesque electric crackers taken to the extreme that go on for ever (5, 10, 15 minutes and more). Nowadays its not so bad as they don't allow lighting crackers inside the apartment complex we live in, so we're shielded from the worst. Today I saw an amazing sight -- on a busy main road near my house near a messy traffic intersection, with 2 cops directing traffic, some IDIOT decided that he must prove his ownership of the road by lighting one of the 5 minute wallahs on the road. The traffic stopped for 5 minutes and the traffic cops did not feel it necessary to chastise the culprit. C'est la vie (en l'Indee).
Specific problem above apart, we need to reinvent our rituals and practices to be genuinely in tune and authentic to today's life. How does one practice Diwali or any other festival in the city in a way that makes sense ?
IIT Kharagpur used to have a contest between hostels for who does the best lighting up of the hostel with diyas for Diwali. That seems like a nice practice, encouraging beauty and creativity instead of sound.
The legends behind Diwali are pretty confusing to me atleast, they seem to be multiple stories and ideas. How does one relate to any of those in a modern rationalist world ? Can we find some essence of the festival and place it in a modern context ?
Another unrelated thought is how incredibly alive and vital some of our Indian festivals are, particularly Holi and Diwali. I can't recall such spectacular exhibitions of light (sound), and colour in any other country's celebrations.
Some self-indulgent photos below, as we played with a camera and diyas on Diwali
6 comments:
I agree that we need to evolve beyond fire crackers.
How about bombing another country that is percieved to be hostile?
Arvind
bomb bomb bomb
bomb bomb iran
>> In most Indian cities Diwali has become a festival of noise and street pollution, rather than a festival of lights.
>>Another unrelated thought is how incredibly alive and vital some of our Indian festivals are, particularly Holi and Diwali. I can't recall such spectacular exhibitions of light (sound), and colour in any other country's celebrations.
Dude, how brilliantly contradictory!! You are well on your way to Sarah Palin land.
that's cold man.
Its OK, the big boy can take a few well deserved beatings when it comes his way.
With friends like me, despo does'nt need enemies!
Arvind
The comments below all went to Spam in my mail. That figures.
Nevertheless:
1.) re. bombing another country -- I suggest we could start by bombing a certain country-sized backside that resides in New York.
2.) To improve on what a wise person said : consistency is for fools and dead people
That aside, what I said was not necessarily inconsistent -- Diwali at its best can include sound without becoming noise pollution
--Vijay
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