So on my way in to work this morning, I was listening to the radio, and they were talking about the controversy around Guy Fawkes’ Day. Apparently some bright spark had the idea of banning fireworks altogether, coz apparently they are not safe. Now, speaking as someone who has grown up in India, with fireworks a yearly attraction at every Diwali, I cannot understand the logic behind this hair-brained idea. Seriously! Yes, I know, fireworks can be dangerous if not handled properly. But to ban them and deprive everyone of this wonderful joy?? Isnt that a bit overboard?

I remember when I was a kid, and used to look forward to Diwali every year. The thrill of going shopping for fireworks with mum, bobbing up and down excitedly on my toes while checking out the fireworks in the store, making plans of when and how I was going to light those firecrackers, wondering which ones my friends would be getting, Oh! It was so much fun! Then would come the actual Diwali, and we would all go outside the house. Everybody would be lighting up fireworks all around us, and so would we. Lighting up a really big bomb, that would make a loud blast, and stuffing our fingers in our ears just in time for the blast, and then giggling loudly as we realised that we did not get scared of the loud noise. The thing that I used to be most scared about was the tiny hand-held “bombettes” (for want of a better word, in Gujarati, they are called “teta”). These had to be lit while being held in the hand, and then tossed in the air just in time for them to burst with a bang. Hold them long enough, and they burst in your hand. Hold them for too short, and they havent been properly lit yet, and they fizzle out. I never mastered that art, unfortunately.

A few years later, my family decided that too many fireworks were not good for the environment, and so from then on, every year on Diwali, we would have a family trip somewhere. One year we went to Mt Abu, another year we went to the North of India. Those trips were fun too, but nothing ever replaced the joy of the fireworks. The light, the colour, the noise, it was all so wonderful! I honestly cannot believe that some people would want to ban fireworks because of a few stupid people.