Modern Day Diwali Celebration – Good or Bad?

Diwali or Deepavali is an important & essential Hindu festival in India. Diwali is celebrated by people from various religious & cultural background, with joy & enthusiasm. People shop for new clothes, renovate their homes, buy gifts & prepare delicious delicacies. It’s a time where people illuminate their offices & homes, family & relatives come together, greetings & Diwali gifts exchanged. Diwali is an ecstatic time of the year. Diwali celebration is a centuries-old tradition that has many myths & stories associated with it.

The modern-day Diwali celebrations have evolved and adopted quite a few new things. However, the true essence of Diwali remains in the hearts of people. But, there are a few things that are a matter of concern. As there is a lot of difference in the way we celebrate Diwali now and how it used to be observed in the initial days. In this article, we will discuss what the advantages & disadvantages of modern-day Diwali celebrations are?

Advantages

1. Family get together : During Diwali, people are relieved of their hectic work schedules, as it is a holiday. People reunite with family, friends & relatives. There is shopping for new clothes, sweets, Diwali gifts for family & various activities that families do together.
2. Renovation & Decoration of homes: While cleaning the entire house together, people enjoy the time they spend with one another, which is not possible when they are in their regular schedule. After renovation & painting of homes, decorating the house is something that every family enjoys.
3. Traditionally rooted – We all know that Diwali is a five days celebration, from Dhanteras to Bhai dooj. There are a lot of Pooja’s that take place, as accustomed. People are enlightened about the festival its origin, religious aspect & various stories concerning it, and also perform different rituals. This helps to keep people rooted in their traditions.
4. The Diyas – The sight of home and surroundings being illuminated with diyas is breadth-taking. Although Diyas create a magical environment, do you know the actual reason why diyas are lit in Diwali? Well, after the monsoon, there are a large number of insects that breed & create havoc. Therefore, to get rid of them diyas with mustard oil is lit, which attracts & kills them. Making the atmosphere attain purity.

Disadvantages

1. Air Pollution – It’s not a hidden fact that people of all ages, bursting crackers, are an absolute delight, but knowingly or unknowingly, they are releasing toxic smoke & gasses, which is, in turn, putting more pressure on our planet which is already suffering from human-made waste
2. Noise Pollution – Certainly, Firecrackers were not a part of the celebrations in the initial days of the festival as there is no mention of it in any Hindu religious scripture. It was a Chinese invention done around 600-900AD. But it was happily integrated into religious festivals later on. It’s no hidden fact that firecrackers produce a lot of noise pollution, not only that, musical instruments & speakers played on high volumes add to the problems. The government allows Noise levels of 55dB in daytime & 45dB at night time, but during Diwali celebrations, it goes beyond 125dB, which is extremely dangerous & can cause severe health problems like temporary deafness, trauma, hypertension, permanent eardrum rupture, etc.
3. Health effects – People of all age groups play around with fireworks, not realizing the poisonous nature of these fireworks & the toxic gasses released by them when setting on fire, & when handled immaturely is causes adverse effects like burns, respiratory diseases & in some cases reported deaths as well.
4. Waste bi-product – After our heart is satisfied with bursting crackers, we see a lot of waste gathered around in the form of paper, plastic, etc. There is also waste, which is non-degradable, and since major cities have shortages of dumping grounds, these wastes pollute the soil.

After going through all these points, the question remains, is Diwali celebration good or bad? Well, that’s something we let you decide. After all, when it comes to saving the health of our planet & ourselves, we need to ponder a little bit. However, you can still celebrate Diwali with your family & friends the greenway. Send them useful Diwali gifts to Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, etc. with the help of online gifting portals if you live far away. And show them know how much you care.