[Santoshbhat]

No crackers in our house this Diwali. We bought crackers during Diwali couple of years ago after a gap of nearly 14 ~ 15 years as I wanted to introduce my kids (4y & 2y) to crackers and the traditions of Diwali. Unfortunately they did not seem to enjoy it very much. My little girl is scared of loud noises and tends to get disturbed at the sound of loud crackers. I avoided the noisy ones and got only a few flower pots, chakras and fuljhadis to get them interested. Followed it up last year too but I realised they weren't that enthused. This year the final nail in the coffin was the diktat from school that crackers pollute and are not something done by 'good children'.

Well, I have no problems with that. Diwali is one of the biggest festival observed by us. Meeting relatives, distributing sweets, wearing new clothes, lighting diyas and lanterns have all been part of the festivities and the cracker part was given up many years ago. We never experienced any reduced levels of joy during the festival due to the absence of crackers. Pollution is a big problem for the world today and these crackers do pollute in multiple ways. The timing of the SC verdict was wrong and was very unfair to the industry, yes, but the downward trend in cracker sales year on year is not something I am going to complain about!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Underpants cause fatal domestic accidents!

Happy festival season to all and your families and friends.

And to you and yours. Possibly my favourite festival, in fact. fireworks are beautiful, athough I do not light them. Have dressed the house with flashing coloured lights, and usually light a real lamp to burn all night.

Likewise, hoping people take safety seriously.

[aah78]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

I am not turning anything.

Tradition - make noise, generate smoke & to hell with whosoever says otherwise?

A lot of us here grew up burning crackers - I did, I used to LOVE it!
Once we realized what it was doing to people around us & to the environment, some of us decided to stop.

This was way before Wolfram & Hart had any inkling of what was going on.

Burning a few fulbaajis / anars / phool-chakra here & there is not the issue.


The issue is with firecrackers (the million mile strings "mala" & sutli-bombs) burned en masse.

[Miyata]

I like the concept of fireworks where designated spots - preferably over a water body - have display of good fireworks where select few light them and rest of us kick back, sit on the lawns, munching some good food, listening to good music, and armed with good cameras we enjoy the show!

That, too me, would feel more festive. I wouldn't have to worry about dodging random crackers coming in from all directions (trying to be a Neo!).

Such controlled fireworks could be conducted in manner that can also sanitize the local atmosphere. Too utopian for our country!

[theredliner]

I had stopped buying crackers after my highschool days as I had lost interest in them. The teenage idea of 'go-green' too may have played its part as I had lost interest in motorcycles and cars at that time and used to consider any motorcycle over 100cc as waste. I'm now eyeing a litre class machine a few years down the line

A few years back, I bought crackers as I started getting irritated by the sermons from the parasitic 'intellectual' class. I started enjoying them once again. This year after the judgement came from the supreme kangaroo court and with the interference from the ministry of environment belonging to the good for nothing central government, I spent significantly more than I used to spend these past few years.

BTW, I'm surprised to see so much concern about pollution on an automotive forum where people burn through hundreds of litres of diesel to go on vacations in their big fat SUVs and for daily commutes (instead of taking public/company provided transport) and where threads about AC runs for hundreds of pages.

[pramodkumar]

I am celebrating my silver jubilee of not buying/busting crackers this year.

My dad always felt its a waste of money, I too lost interest after I saw a Play in my school which detailed the plights of small kids employed in these fire cracker factories.

Wife too didn't have much interest in crackers. Not really sure if status-quo will continue for long. My daughter is too young for crackers, hopefully she too inherits the disinterest in buying and busting crackers.

Pramod

[Equus]

Fire crackers were never part of the Indian Diwali festival.. Not at my home for 5th year in a row!
Nice lighting, colourful clothes, tons of sweets and a few grams of gold buying as well!

[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

This is the quietest Diwali I have witnessed after last years blanket ban. Celebration with crackers can only happen at fixed hours in the evening thanks to the Supreme Court. People seem to follow it - such is the fear of the SC.

The schools teach the children that fire works and colours are bad!! The courts tell us how we should celebrate our festivals !! Maybe the courts can use their wisdom and clout to get our traffic indiscipline sorted out too.

Exactly, the court keeps telling people how to live their lives, which firecrackers to burn, how long can they be burnt, etc.

However the blessed courts don't seem to see beneath their noses about the ridiculous delays in the judicial system. Years pass by without even a hearing, while the guilty scam the system, and the innocent keep waiting in vain hope.

I wonder what sort of perverse logic is it that a totally broken judicial system, beset with its own insurmountable problems, seems to think that it has the wisdom to pontificate on everything under the sun.

[aah78]

Note from Support: BHPians, please stick to the topic "Will you burn crackers this diwali?". Do not use this thread to vent your grievances against the court system, political entities, or religion(s).

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by Hayek

We are not bursting crackers this Diwali as my 11 year old son has been brainwashed by his school and friends into assuming (without any data) that Diwali crackers cause an unacceptable pollution burden.

Delight!!! My son saw his friends bursting crackers and gave up his environmentalist avatar. A quick trip to Lalbaug market later, we were setting off fireworks (not much, just a dozen Flower Pots and Zameen Chakras). Diwali felt like Diwali again. Happy Diwali.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Delight!!! My son saw his friends bursting crackers and gave up his environmentalist avatar. A quick trip to Lalbaug market later, we were setting off fireworks (not much, just a dozen Flower Pots and Zameen Chakras). Diwali felt like Diwali again. Happy Diwali.

The situation so far in Bangalore has been very muted. Shows clearly that many people are indeed concerned about air pollution and noise pollution. And I am glad.
We’d like to stay as always, with the beautiful oil lamp lit Diwali concept rather than noisy and smelly crackers - not least because of the elderly people around, but also because of the poor frightened neighbourhood dogs as well, all of whom get frazzled by the sound of crackers.

[ninjatalli]

So we didn't actually purchase a single cracker this diwali; this was on the table as last few years, the crackers had gone down pretty much. Also added to this decision was the fully scared mutt at our place - the poor fellow goes into shivering mode the moment he hears a cracker bursting.

And you know what - it really did not make a difference. I was one of those guys who thought this was one festival I would never be able to live without. Crackers have always been a big part of my life and I used to look forward to this festival the entire year.

For those on the fence, leave aside the reasons and the thoughts behind it. Give it a try. It might not be so bad as you think it is. And trust me, there ain't any negative impact of you not bursting crackers.

[mayankk]

And the smart people have screwed up the air again. Total litterbugs too. The burstings, and the empty pots and all the rest of the crap strewn all across the society.
Unsurprisingly, the younger kids, pre-teens, were either absent in my society, or standing far behind the fireworks, probably aware that they have to fare with the air for much longer than the adults, mostly parents, who were carrying on with the exercise of lighting stuff up.
Happy diwali, and a merry bronchitis guys.

[roby_dk]

I am happy to see a sort of change where no one played any cracker in my apartment in Delhi. This is the first time we had a comfortable walk on this auspicious day in past so many years. Almost same air quality like yesterday with no smoke in air. I think this is a very wise move from government to ban crackers in Delhi.

[Ithaca]

I don't know very much about the law.
All I know is that a lot of people are happily blasting crackers here in Vashi, Nerul & Seawoods after the permitted time limit.
Seems like the cops are letting the time limit ban slide.

As some are mentioning on twitter, mass contempt of court is going on now all over the country..

https://twitter.com/UnSubtleDesi/sta...25640492756993