by Tanu Bhandari

Created on: October 13, 2009   Last Updated: October 14, 2009

According to the ancient hindu epic Ramayana, on amavasya (new moon night) in the Hindu lunar month of kartik; the rightful heir to the throne of Ayodhya, Lord Ram returned to his kingdom after fourteen years in exile accompanied by his wife Sita and brother Laxman. The people of Ayodhya gave a warm welcome to the king. The entire city was decorated with lights. Lord Ram's homecoming is celebrated as diwali. The word diwali originates from the word 'deepavali' which means, a row of lights.

During the course of exile, Ram, Sita and Laxman, lived in dense jungles, away from the luxury of palace. Lord Ram an avatar of Lord Vishnu had to free his wife Sita from the clutches of Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. So diwali marks the return of virtuous Lord Ram to Ayodhya from exile after defeating Ravana. To welcome Lord Ram and commemorate his victory people lit up their houses, shops, temple, and burst fire crackers.

Diwali is known as festival of lights but firecrackers are important aspect of the festival. A diwali celebration is not complete without bursting crackers. All, young and old, enjoy fire-works. The night sky is filled with light and sound from the crackers. The readers who as children, have celebrated diwali in India will always remember the fun of diwali with fire-crackers. The unforgettable twinkling anaar, rising about ten feet from the floor with sparkling splinters; a rocket shooting off from a bottle high in the sky, where it sparkles off accompanied with a loud bang; chakri, a roundish disc which rotates on a flat ground, emanating vibrant colors.

Diwali fire-works is a local affair of each and every Indian household. People burst crackers right in their front yard or on streets itself with pride and joy. It is risky and few accidents do happen; but this has been the tradition since time immemorial. Unlike the fourth of July fireworks in United States, which is more like a community celebration in a park, near a body of water which is quite safe.

In recent years, the charm of crackers is fading away in metro cities of India; due to restricted accommodation, less of open space in apartments. When diwali is round the corner, you may come across flashing fliers 'have a happy and safe diwali' and 'say no to crackers'. It is true, the expensive diwali-crackers do add a lot of air and noise pollution to the atmosphere. Each one of us can at least reduce our carbon footprints by pledging no to crackers.

Diwali in particular, symbolizes victory of good over evil. The truth always prevails. It spreads universal brotherhood irrespective of caste, creed or sex.The fire-works brighten up the dark diwali (new moon) night and the fire-works trend will continue for generations to come.

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