City schools plan a different Diwali

BANGALORE: As shops selling firecrackers line up across the city, schools in the city are looking at encouraging students to celebrate Deepavali in a safer and less noisier manner. Even children are contemplating whether donating money and old clothes to the poor is a better option than spending money on          firecrackers.Children of BES High School in Malleswaram feel that given a choice they would choose to donate money to orphanages, hostels and blind schools rather than spending that money on crackers. “My family has been donating money to the underprivileged on a regular basis. This year, on Deepavali, I would like to donate money or old clothes. I do not want to spend too much on firecrackers,” said Chinmayi, a class 7 student.Aishwarya and Sahana, also studying in the same school have similar plans for Deepavali this year. Though they have not donated money on Deepavali in the past, they would like to do so this year. When asked why, they said it is better than burning crackers.Ashish, a 10th standard student, has an elaborate plan for Deepavali this year. “We should save the money we plan to spend on firecrackers and form an association to help the poor,” he said. Though when asked whether he would burst crackers this year, his answer was ‘to some extent’.Pavan, an 8th standard student, jumped to his defense by saying that it is part of the Indian culture to celebrate the festival by burning firecrackers. “It is because of our cultural and religious background. But yes, we must keep in mind that these crackers also pollute the environment,” he added.“While people feel that burning crackers pollutes the environment, they should also remember that the use of cars on a daily basis for short distances and industrial pollution are bigger issues,” feels Ashish.In an effort to make Deepavali brighter than noisier, Greenwood High School in Varthur has asked junior level students to urge their parents to invest on lights than on crackers. “An orthodox approach to Deepavali is burning firecrackers. This leads to pollution. As responsible citizens, we have given a task to our primary and middle school students to spend little on crackers, and invest more on lights,” said Manas Mehrotra, trustee of Greenwood High School. “High school students have been asked to donate some per cent of their Deepavali budget towards charity. This is an attempt to sensitize students about the underprivileged,” added Mehrotra.Even NGOs are doing their bit in making the festival safer and environment-friendly. Kiran Gangadhar from Yuva Bengaluru told City Express that crackers are a big no in their approach to the festival. “Since three years, we have been making children from Labourers Fellowship School light lamps by inviting them to our premises and also provide them with food. It is important to educate them on why we should not burn crackers,” he said.