Diwali week

To the very few people who read the blog (which I am very grateful for), I was slightly caught up with other things to upload the blog. My apologies.I was caught up with the festivities, the food, the colors, the lights, and those dreaded crackers. *Arrgh*. They make me want to scream but that would just be a waste of time and energy because my scream wouldn't be heard over the loud noises they make anyways.

While I was busy running around, or being ordered around, a facebook event invite caught my eye. It invited people to celebrate an Eco-friendly Diwali. It warmed my heart to see that some people agreed with my view of how Diwali should, or could be spent and I clicked the invite. While some people had written encouraging comments on the 'wall', some had argued against the event, stating several reasons none of which made sense to me.

Some argued that the organizer was against Hindu festivals and should convert his religion. Wow. What a mature, well-researched argument. Because of course this is what the event was all about.*sarcasm*. I would love to ask him how creating loud noises, scaring poor animals, creatures God has made himself and some of whom we worship, polluting the water with large idols of God, and polluting the very earth God has made is supposed to make him/her happy? If I were God, would I want to come down to earth and enter homes when smoke fogs my vision? Or when the creatures I have made are unhappy? Has anything been said against the Hindu festivals like Janmashtami, or Baisakhi, or even Holi?

And why are festivals being turned into competitions to outdo one another. They are supposed to be about times to forget differences and to come together, not to outdo one another, or to put others down. Diwali was supposed to be about lights, not about crackers. Ganesh Chaturti was supposed to be about worshipping God, not about how expensive the idol is. But that seems to be in the past now.

Another argument on the wall was that instead of talking about crackers, the organizer and supporters of the event should stop driving cars and eradicate poverty. Way to go buster! What a comeback. Because of course the way to solve one problem is talk about others. You want to eradicate poverty but wouldn't want to spend less money on crackers or on your clothes. Because of course we drive cars because they serve no purpose whatsoever. We just drive them around for our entertainment, and crackers bring about a world of change. They make you happy, and we only have to live with YOUR pollution. But please, don't let us stop you or give you a solution to solving some issues that face us, so we can tackle the larger issues with a calm mind. You continue to enjoy yourselves and empathize with the "poor" people on the days which don't clash with your fun. Ask others to tackle poverty, and while we are at it, should be just eradicate polio, illiteracy, corruption etc etc? If we had superhuman powers, we would rather transplant your brain.

We do suggest ways in which you can celebrate festivals, but we do not come down upon you, swoop down upon your homes and throw your crackers away or force you to shut down your festivities. *Yes it is a taunt towards some agitations*. We merely suggest. So if you don't agree, feel free to differ. Just don't put us down.

I will make the choices that I can live with....and that others can live with too.