We have reached that time of the year when India, especially the Capital New Delhi, has turned clean, green, and keen. Keen for the universal festival that ushers in a bright new year along. India, along with New Delhi, is yearning for Christmas after the terrible pollution caused by Diwali. It is such a refreshing feeling for the poor Bollywood celebrities suffering from Asthma caused by Diwali pollution. Not to forget the celebrity dogs and cats scared to death by the Diwali crackers. According to some “Xperts” (experts on X, formerly known as Twitter), Diwali turns the entire country into a suffocating gas chamber. New Delhi particularly becomes a Gulag.
Mohammed bin Tughlaq was an extraordinarily wise man. He was unfairly turned into a butt of ridicule by the Brahminical Historians, branding him as “The Mad Sultan” and “The Eccentric Prince”. He was a learned man and had vast knowledge of Medicine. He was a visionary, who was able to foresee Delhi choking due to pollution caused by Diwali. That is why he shifted his Capital from Delhi to Devagiri almost seven centuries ago. Unfortunately, his well intended move was foiled by people who lacked understanding of his vision. The result has been terribly disastrous. Lahore, Karachi and even Dhaka in Bangladesh rank among the most polluted cities in the world along with New Delhi. All because of Diwali-induced pollution.
“Xperts” are worried, the Diwali rockets may punch holes in the Ozone layer. This may become a major cause for climate change disasters. But Diwali crackers aren’t the sole source of pollution. Diwali also brings noise pollution in the form of loudspeakers blaring Hindu devotional music with harmonium as background. That is the reason India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru never liked harmonium. He knew, harmonium would cause noise pollution. Diwali brings more disasters than ordinary people can imagine. Tonnes of fried food items and sweets are prepared in excessive quantities during Diwali. This leads to further escalation in Carbon Dioxide emissions. People travelling from cities to their hometowns leave more Carbon footprints during Diwali.
The most beautiful part of Christmas and New Year are the fireworks. Instead of Sulphur Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Carbon Dioxide and particulate matter, the Christmas and New Year fireworks emit Oxygen and Ozone
Millions of oil wick lamps are lit every evening during Diwali, contributing to substantial increase in global warming. Himalayan glaciers are melting because of Diwali. Crores of people overeating too leads to pollution during Diwali. The entirety of the harm caused by Diwali is not yet fully quantified. JNU may have to initiate PhD courses to probe further in this direction. Supreme Court may do well to constitute a special bench to assess the magnitude of damage caused by Diwali pollution.
Thankfully, all is not lost for India. To undo all the havoc caused by Diwali pollution and to cleanse our environment, Christmas is coming and that is the “good news”. Livestock, like cows, buffaloes, sheep, goats and chicken are major producers of greenhouse gases like Methane. By eating these pollutant livestock, people reduce greenhouse gas emissions during Christmas. Unlike the fried Diwali sweets, Christmas cakes are baked. Hence, they don’t increase Carbon emissions. The wine prepared during Christmas is a vegan product. It helps in preventing heart diseases, leading humanity towards a healthier society.
Christmas trees are absolutely marvellous. Cutting pines, firs or spruce trees to decorate Christmas trees helps to promote growth of these trees. Christmas trees increase Oxygen levels inside the homes. Even plastic trees used during Christmas are environment friendly, because they can be reused. Lighting candles in millions is not only a beautiful practice but also a healthy one. Candles don’t pollute like Diwali oil wick lamps. According to our celebrities, candles are “cool”. Thus, they also manage to bring down global warming. Christmas also ushers in the new year, helping people to make resolutions to live healthier.
But the most beautiful part of Christmas and New Year are the fireworks. Instead of Sulphur Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Carbon Dioxide and particulate matter, the Christmas and New Year fireworks emit Oxygen and Ozone. The Ozone layer damaged by Diwali crackers gets fixed automatically during Christmas. The smog and pollution caused during Diwali gets absorbed and the Air Quality Index (AQI) improves dramatically during Christmas and New Year. That is the reason even the Governments and Courts enforce ban on fireworks only during October and November but not during December.
Apart from the pollution angle, it is also about mythology versus history. People bursting polluting crackers to celebrate the mythological slaying of Narakāsura by Krishna even in this modern era, is indecipherable. We are deluding our children away from scientific temperament. It’s unbelievable that superstitious people still believe mythological characters like Mahabali come back to Earth every year to visit his people during Diwali. At the same time, the “history” of Santa Clause riding his reindeers to drop precious gifts for little children every year, is truly endearing. It’s heartwarming to see Santa leaving gifts in even at those homes without chimneys in India. In fact, the secular Santa is leaving Christmas gifts, even at Hindu households these days. That’s the love Santa has for children.
After all the disastrous pollution caused by the unhealthy and unscientific Diwali, it’s a relief that we have Christmas as the saviour of Earth. Yes, the celebration of a saviour, who began the process of advance booking of pardon for all the sins of all his believers. It’s befitting that Christmas cancels all the pollution caused by Diwali and cleanses the Earth to spread the message of the Saviour.
