Festival of lights: Children light firecrackers to their heart’s content

Swami Narayan Mandir in the city witnesses a low turnout this year.

KARACHI:

After waiting for a year, children lit firecrackers as they celebrated the festival of lights on Thursday.

Several children and their parents occupied the courtyards of Swami Narayan Mandir, one of the largest temples in the city, as they gathered to celebrate Diwali.

“I am loving it,” exclaimed Shipali. “We wait the whole year just for this day. Our parents don’t let us light firecrackers on other days,” she explained hurriedly amid the deafening sound of firecrackers.

Though there was a low turnout of people at the temple, the happy kids ran around lighting firecrackers. Vishal Bhart, a 13-year-old boy, kept lighting pink-coloured rods known as ‘china bomb’. “My uncle gave this packet to me,” he said.

Next to Bhart stood a group of girls trying to decide which bomb to use. Will it be Kalashnikov, Cobra or Titli? “A cousin of mine was burnt last year because he was standing very close to the firecrackers,” said Anusha, a class six student. “But I’m throwing them at a distance so I’m not scared.”

Anusha had been lighting firecrackers since Thursday morning as her school, which is run by Christian authorities, had given an off to all Hindu students.

On the other hands, the parents complained that firecrackers have become more expensive. Talja Ram, who was lighting up toy bombs with a matchstick, said that he had spent Rs1,000 on them. “First they used to be for Rs10 or Rs15,” he said. “Today, we are getting them in black for Rs80 because toy bombs are short in the market.”

Some people also complained that they were unable to celebrate fully as they had to work in the morning. Manhoj Ram, who works in a bank, said it was unfortunate they couldn’t celebrate the entire day with their families. “It should have been a holiday for everyone so that we would have enjoyed as well,” he said. It was after coming from work that he was able to greet his relatives and bring his three children and his wife to the temple.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2014.