Diwali by the Marina!

Diwali by the Marina!


Ganga Prasad G. Rao
http://myprofile.cos.com/gangar



Years ago, I wrote to the Tamil Nadu Government years. Perhaps it was lost in the email garbage cleared automatically by the email janitor robot? But then, some things are better appreciated when repeated. Besides, the blog is a perfect medium to post rejected suggestions! The message? Simple: Celebrate Diwali Publicly, Together!

The problem, as I perceive it, is that Chennai is a very congested city. Add tradition, religious fervor and generous Diwali bonuses to this concoction, and what results is an explosion of sound, light and chemicals in a short period of time that pollutes the air and earth and poisons the very young, the minorities and the aged. The scores of fires, explosions and accidents leading in to and on the festival day do no favor to Diwali meant to celebrate the victory of the good over evil. (We could get in to debating what is good and what is evil, but I'll hold that off for another day!). Unmitigated littering of the streets with arsenic-, cadmium-, and strontium-laced cracker waste that contaminate well water and ground water, rooms filled with smoky, poisonous air and painful 1000-wallahs and 10,000-wallahs that put mosquito mats to shame are not what Lord Rama ordered. I daresay the festival is turning more to the liking of Lord Ravana!

But, I am not inciting religious passions here. My purpose is to suggest a better way. Have your Diwali sans the devil. Chennai is blessed with a coast and a wide beach. Let's celebrate by the sea. Choose a Diwali weekend or the weekend immediately after the festival. Ban private fireworks celebration. Instead, organize a public offshore Diwali fireworks display. We could declare the transport system 'free' for the evening and stage a moving offshore display of fireworks that enthralls the throngs for a couple of hours, for the weekend. It need not be entirely or even partly government-sponsored. Many business houses would come forward to participate if the event were correctly promoted. The Marina road could be turned in to a street-side eatery for the evening. It would be a gala public event. An event for the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the religious or for that matter, even the atheist to enjoy. A cosmopolitan festival for a truly cosmopolitan city!

Open your heart. Invite the world to the Chennai Christmas!