Have been exchanging Diwali wishes since the last few days. But that day has arrived where one can think of hiding under the bed in a room, whose doors and windows have been tightly latched from the inside. This is a strategy of saving myself from inhaling tonnes of smoke released by Diwali crackers without even knowing 'how much' actually went inside. Earlier it was only the birds, asthmatics, or the old and ailing who couldn't bear smoke and noise from crackers. I am neither a harmless bird, nor an asthmatic or an ailing person (not in any way that I know of), but I cannot seem to tolerate the warm, yet poisonous, blanket of smoke that'll gradually wrap me up from the inside tonight, especially gripping the lungs to reduce their oxygen breathing capacity...
Was chatting with a friend from Maharashtra who said that her state had just witnessed a string of 'festivals of pollution' like Ganapati, Navaratri and Dussehra, where the river bodies choked. But, one can conveniently close ones eyes to that and pretend that those are 'just far-away rivers'. However, aquatic plants and animals would disagree as rivers comprise their complete life source so they cannot take their own gagging lightly. Maybe if living creatures of water could speak with living creatures of the land, and in a language they understood, maybe the latter could have considered finding ecologically healthier ways of appeasing-Gods-at-any-cost. I don't think any 'real' Gods would appreciate so much killing to boost their own ego annually, i.e. just once a year.
Anyway, between the two realities i.e. river choking and subsequent dying of aquatic life in Maharashtra and direct, almost inevitable, human-lung-choking during Diwali in Delhi, the latter seemed like a much more immediate concern for me. Just when I was convinced about the importance of what I was thinking, Aruna Roy's group Diwali message beeped on the mobile phone. It said: "Join us on 5th November at 5pm at Statue Circle, Jaipur, with unlit diyas to celebrate kali diwali and demand payment of minimum wages in MNREGA."
