Green is the warmest color  

We’ll be celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights very soon. It is one of the most celebrated festivals of India and very popular among Hindus. Diwali is celebrated to mark the arrival of Lord Rama in Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. People celebrate by decorating their home with diyas, rangolis, and decorative lights, wear new clothes, exchange sweets and gifts with each other, burn crackers, and in the evening perform Lakshmi Pujan. 

It is celebrated exactly after 10 days of Vijaya Dashami. Pollution is a big problem in the modern world and has many effects on the environment. Bursting firecrackers causes health problems because of the air pollution caused by the smoke. We have to become more eco-friendly and more self-aware about how we want to celebrate our festivals.  

Why green Diwali?  

Firecrackers are considered unsafe for human health as they include hazardous and toxic chemicals. The noise from the firecrackers leaves babies, elders and animals scared. Cases of children getting burns while bursting crackers, sometimes leading to losing their eyesight during bursting crackers are reported every year. Cases of accidental fire breaking out at markets storing explosives are reported every year. The firecrackers fill the air with toxic pollutants particularly sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon dioxide (CO2), etc along with several metallic compounds, which have a bad effect on air quality.  

Green Diwali is a way of celebrating with minimum damage to the environment. The idea is simple, we have to save the environment so that we can sustain our resources for a longer time. The bursting of firecrackers causes pollution along with harming the health of elderly people, children, and animals. Many people suffer from pollution-related lifestyle disorders during the festive season due to the decreasing air quality. This time, we bring to you some of the ways you can go green, this Diwali. 

Use diyas instead of firecrackers

This Diwali Light up Diyas and not fireworks or firecrackers. But it is a fact that we don’t pay attention to the hazardous effect of loud noise and pollution on the environment. The release of toxic gas is in the atmosphere due to the bursting of crackers. A huge amount of teenage children are involved in the making of firecrackers. Exposure of such young children to toxic substances puts their life and health in great danger.

Use clay diyas instead of plastic diyas

Instead of choosing electric plastic diyas go for clay diyas which use oil for producing light. Avoid using cheap plastic lights for home decoration and go for handmade earthenware and ideas for decoration. This will help in protecting the environment along with helping the poor artisan families.

Another attraction during Diwali is decorating the house with lights. While using light strips, make sure that the lights are LEDs. Solar decoration lights are available in the market which doesn’t use any electricity.

Opt for a noise-free Diwali

Please opt for a Noise-Free Diwali. Firecracker on bursting creates 65 decibels of sound which is a harm to our ear and our brain. Even after the ban on the use of noisy crackers, people are still bursting them. The burning of firecrackers causes various health problems which we haven’t paid attention to. Hence, it’s very important to pay attention to avoiding firecrackers to save our ears as well as our lungs.

Use organic rangoli

Circumvent the use of chemical-based rangoli colors. Make maximum use of natural colors and dyes like turmeric powder, kumkum, lime, petal, coal, and leaves. Rangolis are the attraction of Diwali celebrations. Synthetic colors are dangerous for the environment and unhealthy for our body which can cause serious health issues.

Choosing natural colors and flowers is the best choice for celebrating a green Diwali. Organic rangoli colors are easily available and are a tad bit costlier than synthetic ones. Rangolis are a big part of celebrating Diwali. Let’s choose rangolis that can be made using eco-friendly colors that do not cause harm to our surroundings. Organic rangoli colors are available in the markets easily.

Finally,    

Festivals are a big part of our life. They are something which we look forward to and festival like Diwali fills our heart with happiness, joy and of course, lights. That being said, we need to do focus on protecting our environment and taking care of it. We need to find safer alternatives for a lot of things, such as using less electricity, eating healthy, etc. Green Diwali is a part of a bigger revolution trying to celebrate a joyous festival with joy and not needing to worry about the problems we have to face or we are still facing and making our world a better place to live in. 

Go green and go clean.