Fireworks, Pollution and Effigies
Dr. Lalit Mohan Sharma
When I look around, I carry rules in an imaginary rucksack on my back and my heart on my sleeve. I can appreciate the urge and instinct to celebrate with fireworks the independence days, weddings, victories in sports and elections, exhibit joy in festivals by exploding luminous bombs. That all this leads to darkened skies next morning with a thick pall of smoke is something that worries lovers of the environment, the anti- pollution minds. Delhi around Diwali has seasonal deliberations on banning crackers, there's talk of eco- friendly crackers, or at least to limit the time to explode fireworks. It's difficult to breathe at Delhi, India's capital city, in the morning after Diwali. Of course, even normal times too, Delhi is an exception to having fresh morning air!
When sentiments take over religious and cultural undertones, it gets well- nigh impossible to give you an ear, like ' visarjan' in flowing waters of seasonal effigies of deeply adored divinities as of Ganesha, and if some enduring and long lasting plastic is used therein, the anti- pollution crowds may chant louder their complaints.
Progressively with time, the effigy burning during Dusherra festival has become highly competitive, more seriously spectacular than ever before or more dramatic the crackers and flames in effigies than can be seen in neighbouring areas. In Delhi, in at least ten major places, the Dusherra effigies of Ravan, Kumbhkaran and Meghnad are burnt, Red Fort grounds, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Ramlila grounds, and so on. Every city, town or suburb will have its fundraising for the festival's climax of burning effigies. Bigger the city, bigger the effigies, louder shall be the luminous explosions.
Most mind boggling is the burning of three effigies, a phenomenon ritually persisted with all over India with very few exceptions. Huge effigies, four/ five times taller than the normal human height, with bombs exploding as the fire spreads, lights shooting into the sky. One can smell the dynamite for some good distance. The three men, Ravan, his brother and son, were given normal funeral offerings in the great epic called Ramayana. The other festival loud with bombs and crackers is also linked mainly with Rama's return to Ayodhya after the killing of demonic forces led by Ravan who had abducted his wife Sita. An erudite Brahmin and scholar that Ravan was, there's the celebrated mention of Rama telling Lakshman to learn a thing or two from the Lankan King as he lay dying. His Shiva Tandava Stotra, the great incantatory poem is religiously recited daily by many Indians as a part of their schedule of morning prayers.
One cannot turn the tide. One can just order men and women not to crack fireworks in an hour celebration. Ecological issues, yes, but one cannot question the legitimacy of a people to burn the long dead villains in their national epics thousands of years ago. And, yet, nothing is impossible. A man remained indifferent to an asthmatic fellow passenger's request not to smoke, and a woman sitting nearly, having added her voice to the asthma patient without result, approached the High Court. What happened? Smoking was banned in public places. The Supreme Court also put its seal on this Court Order. Now, no one can be seen in a bus, train, hotel, public park, any office.. None whatsoever can be seen smoking, a puff or two, to relax his mind. Keeping in view the alarming dangers of air and sound pollution, maybe, the Supreme Court could, not ban, but put stringent limits on digital pitch of sound, stamp out the threat of dark clouds of smoke with bits of paper and of dynamite.
Dr. Lalit Mohan Sharma has published ten books of English poetry which include 'Man with A Horn', 'Eyes of Silence' and 'There's No Death'. His book, A Three- Step Journey, is English translation of Zahid's Urdu poems. 'A Little Fire' and 'पटल से प्रांगण तक' came out in the year 2023, and 'Imaginary Knots' is the latest , and 'Icicles of Time', another book of poems, will shortly be out. Sharma was conferred with 'Master of Creative Impulse' at World Poetry Conference in 2019. Galaxy Foundation honoured him with ' A Connoisseur of Creative Arts' Award. He has been anthologised in several books of poetry, stories and of academic interest.
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