Every year, around Diwali, an unfortunate coincidence is the air pollution that takes up all the headlines everywhere. Instead of Diwali melas and pujas, all we see and read in news is the horrifying AQI levels.
What never fails to surprise me is how the human mind works. We see GRAP being strictly followed for those few days but fail to pay attention on what has led to this situation, round the year. We pollute and pollute and then suddenly around Diwali everybody is concerned about vehicular pollution. If something is bad for the environment, why can’t we follow it from the start? How is it that, year after year, only after the waste crop has been burnt, do we wake up and come up with all kinds of fines and solutions; the latest being artificial rain, as if we haven’t interfered with Nature enough.
The rise of interest in rituals and festivals, especially by the youth has been revolutionary, which is indeed a very positive change. But at the same time if somebody asks us not to burn crackers because of the already existing high AQI levels we take it upon ourselves to do more of it because ‘What pollution in one day!’ India’s loss in the WC final was definitely a loss, but it did save the high AQI level in the air from getting worse.
Similarly, if asked not to waste water on Holi, we do just the opposite. Sadly, we fail to realise that ultimately, we are harming ourselves and nobody else.
We are creating a toxic environment for ourselves and our future generations. Instead, we can introduce ourselves and thereby our future generations as to how life was before the advent of consumerism in Bharat, how sustainable practices were a way of life, when Deepawali was Shubh and not Happy. Hopefully we will be better equipped by next year.
