Eco - Friendly Festivals

Eco- friendly, as a single word is, an adjective that means non- damaging to the environment, or directed at preventing environmental damage. It is indeed a strange turn of the 21 st century that a word such as “eco- friendly festivals” has come to existence. Because festivals are meant for spreading cheer and happiness and not damaging the environment. But sadly the traditional aim of festivals of has given way to a more pompous and insensitive way of celebrations that causes considerable damage to mother nature.

Diwali, the festival of lights was originally celebrated with a simple puja at home and the lighting of diyas or oil lamps. Nowadays people give more importance to the bursting of firecrackers. And the firecrackers have metamorphosed from simple ones to giant ones increasing the amount of pollution they cause. These crackers have harmful chemicals such as Copper, Cadmium, Lead, Magnesium, Zinc, Sodium etc. They are the cause of many physical ailments, not to mention the smoke from these crackers can trigger an asthma attack easily. Also, some of these fireworks can make noise upto 100 decibals when they are burst. To boot, the traditional diyas are now accompanied by an array electrical bulbs to decorate the house and this results in an increased load on power consumption.

Ganesh Chaturthi is another festival that devout Hindus look forward to because it is the time when the popular elephant god graces their homes. There is one more endearing aspect of this festival- the fact that it unifies people from different religions during the immersion of the idols. However, it is this very immersion that gravely threatens the natural water bodies.
Traditionally, Ganpati idols were made of natural unbaked clay and organic colours. These have now been replaced by Plaster of Paris (POP), which is lighter and cheaper. POP contains chemicals such as gypsum, sulphur, phosphorus, and magnesium. The dyes used to colour these idols contain mercury, cadmium, arsenic, lead, and carbon. The idols are decorated with plastic and thermocol accessories. Such materials are non- biodegradable, hence are toxic. Moreover, the present generation is so high on the spirit of competitiveness that the idols get larger year after year and the larger the idols, the greater the environmental damage.

Holi, the Indian festival of colours, gaiety, fun and frolic is associated with Lord Krishna and his Gopis. Till the 1950s, families used to prepare their own colours from dried flowers in the form of powders called gulal and boiled them to get concentrated, deep wet colours. Such a colourful Holi was soon overtaken by commercialisation which started providing exotic colours but in a highly dangerous form. The industries make Purple from Chromium Iodide, Red from Mercuric Oxide, Green from Copper Sulphate, Black from Lead and Glitter from Mica and glass. All these are highly dangerous to the skin, eyes, respiratory tract, can cause renal disorder and some are even carcinogenic. They do not wash away easily, but get mixed in drains and sewage systems and pollute water bodies and the soil.

In order to contain the environmental damage it is not necessary to stop celebrating festivals altogether. What is required is that we simply switch to the traditional ways of celebrating them.

Let us celebrate Diwali with only diyas and make sure that the bursting of firecrackers does not go overboard. Also when we purchase new clothes for Diwali, instead of buying synthetic fabrics like silk (most commonly used textile for luxurious sarees) we should try to buy clothes made of hemp, jute, organic cotton, soy silk or milk silk.

Let us refrain from purchasing Ganpati idols made of POP. Let us always opt for idols made of unbaked natural clay, natural fibre, or even recycled paper. We must not use thermocol or plastic as decorations or accessories for our Ganpati idol. Instead we must use cloth, wood, paper, and other natural materials that are safer when immersed in water. If there is an artificial tank in our area specifically created for immersion purposes, we should use that instead of a natural source of water such as a lake or a stream.

Holi can be made a lot more fun if we adopted once again the tradition of preparing home-made colours known as gulal. Hues of red, green and pink can be made from flowers like tesu (Flame of the forest), harsringar, marigold, hibiscus, rose and other organic derivatives. These colors are not just safe for the human body but also have therapeutic value.

Moderation and replacement are the two keys to celebrating eco- friendly festivals. This will not only help save the environment but also help to understand the true meaning of festivities. It is time awareness has been created among the citizens. Once the awareness is created, many will be ready to change for the better. It is high time we stopped robbing environment of everything it has to give us. At least on the day of festivities let us respect God in a true manner by not harming His wonderful creation called 'Planet Earth'.