We Wish You A Green Diwali

It was a rainy night. There was a power cut. I was at home with my mom, watching her power up the kerosene stove to heat up the giant wok of oil for frying ribbon pakodas and butter murukkus. The warmth of the kitchen and the thrill of getting to taste the first batch of Diwali snacks filled me with happiness. As if it were a page from a fairy tale where everything ends happily, my dad walked in with a pack of Lakshmi Vedia brand of firecrackers. Despite the rain, he managed to burst a couple of crackers, not knowing that I despised their loud sounds. Soon, my mother joined us to light some small sparklers that came in matchboxes. As the smoke rose above the brilliant flame of the matchstick, I remember feeling coddled and happy.

Yes, we burst crackers and enjoyed watching the colorful fireworks light up the night sky. But we never went overboard with our celebrationsbuying crackers was a nod to tradition. Now, most of us are aware of the impact of fireworks on our health and environment, with some people choosing to avoid the customary firecrackers. Some have even found ingenious ways to make their Diwali environmentally friendly.

Here are three parents, who are also business owners, sharing with us their plans for a merrier and greener Diwali.

ROHINI DEEPTHI NATTI

Game Designer | Hyderabad

Lauki lanterns and coconut leaf parrots

My childhood Diwali memories have always been about family time. I remember how we used to prepare for Diwalisoaking the earthen diyas, making cotton wicks for them, dressing up and, finally, the bliss of lighting the diyas all over the house. We even made crackers at home with gunpowder and sand!

As an adult, the switch to green Diwali happened a long time ago, but I wont deny that we admire our neighbors fireworks display. Last year, celebrating Diwali during the lockdown was challenging in terms of staying indoors and being isolated from our neighbors. It was a dull affairno sweets were exchanged, no fireworks were seen. Happy about the smoke- and noise-free part, though!

But we had to figure out ways to entertain ourselves. My parents have two huge coconut trees, which were being trimmed. Thats when I came up with the idea of decorating the house with coconut leaf crafts. All of us sat down and learned how to make coconut leaf diyas and parrot garlands. They looked magical and lifted our moods instantly.

We also grew mustard microgreens in the shape of a diya on cotton. It was an instant hit with my son Adi, who was then 3 years oldhe loved watering the greens and watching them grow.

My mom handed over two dried laukis (bottle gourds) from her garden, saying, I know youll make something out of them. And I did! I drilled holes into them and deseeded them. One had holes in the shape of a diya and the other had different constellations. We put some rice lights in them and lit them up at night on our mango tree. Our nature-inspired lauki lanterns lit up the whole garden! When I look back at it now, it feels like the best Diwali ever.

Diwali 2021: Sometimes we just need to look at what we have rather than worrying about what we cant control. Even a simple affair like idlis for breakfast can be made exciting by adding vegetables and making them colorful. We made an Idli Rangoli which was a big hit last Diwali. My son now loves Diwali not for the crackers but for all the other things we did last year. And thats the spirit of Diwali we will be taking forward this year, too!

Rohini is the co-founder of Kitki (@openkitki), a company that creates educational board games based on STEM concepts.

ADITI KHATTAR

Green Space Stylist | Delhi

Fresh flowers, handlooms & terra-cotta diyas

During my childhood, Diwali and birthdays were the two occasions when all of us used to get dressy clothes and my mother would buy home dcor items and essentials. We were always discouraged from bursting crackers, but we kids used to indulge in a few. Today, we are making sure our daughter Zoya (4) understands the impact of crackers on the environment. In fact, we dont buy her any.

Not just for Diwali, but even otherwise, I ensure we reuse the things we have, instead of buying. Thats what I did last year. It was fun to hunt for unused and old things in our home and recreate something out of them. Giving old furniture new life, using old containers for home dcor, buying handmade or handloom clothes, choosing fresh flowers and leaves over plastic garlands, and opting for traditional terra-cotta diyas were ways in which our Diwali was greener last year.

Diwali 2021: I believe every festival must be sustainable. So, for us, Diwali is about celebrating creativity that brings in sustainable prosperity. And my daughter likes our low-waste and green Diwali for all that it is.

Aditi runs The Greenish Affair (@ thegreenishaffair), which aims to create urban jungles.

POOJA MOIRANGTHEM

Home Decorator | Delhi

DIY lanterns and homemade treats

My childhood memories of Diwali have always been about my parents cleaning and whitewashing our home; shopping for clothes, diyas, candles; making sweets; and visiting relatives and friends. Just seeing my mother wear a beautiful saree and light the diyas made me happy. Since childhood, we were encouraged not to burst crackersall we did was light those small phooljharis (sparklers). My mother would decorate our house with paper streamers and lanterns and fresh marigoldsthe beautiful orange and yellow marigolds came from our garden. So, we have always had sustainable celebrations during childhood!

But as time passed and we became busier, we began to focus on convenience. So, like others, we, too, bought readymade items and never made the effort to have that family bonding over Diwali. The last few years have been a wake-up call for all of usthey have taught us a lot about climate change and global warming. During the pandemic, I realized how small changes can make a big difference. Like they say, we dont need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly, we need millions of people doing it imperfectly.

So, Ive been teaching my daughter Nia (7) and son Nir (4) what my mother had always taught me, i.e., to respect our planet and environment. From practicing the three Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) to embracing a zero-waste lifestyle, Im trying to help my kids lead a sustainable lifestyle. Thanks to the lockdowns, weve had ample time with our kids. Ive been doing lots of DIY crafts with the help of my kids or simply in their presence, like transforming old products into something new and useful. For example, I made a planter out of a broken plastic basket and a wall hanging from an old handmade crochet.

Diwali 2021: This Diwali will be a DIY Diwali for us. Im planning to bring back all my childhood activities into my childrens lives. From paper lanterns and clay diyas to sweet treats, everything will be made at home, including the wrappingsthe sweets and gifts will be wrapped in used fabrics.

Pooja Moirangthem, a home decorator (@da_homestory), product stylist, content creator and restaurateur, hails from Manipur and lives in Delhi.