Thread by @Indumakalktchi

While I am all for #diwalicrackers and support the right and freedom to light and burst them without unreasonable curbs, my observation is that the craze for #crackers among youngsters and the next generation has been declining year on year and it is a steady downward trend.

In fact, the bulk of the people making big noise with crackers on the streets as well as social media are all middle-aged males Largely the 80s-90s generation, as they still live their hangover of the riotous Diwali revelry of their young days.

In the present generation, children have some curiosity and sense of adventure with crackers till about the age of 12-13, at the max 15, not beyond. And, even this, because of the company and hanging around with friends during Diwali that attracts them,

more than the crackers. Girl children lose interest in it sooner than boys - natural. In Bengaluru, many middle and upper middle class families that can well afford crackers simply don't buy them, as no one in the family is interested.

I don't think this disinterest is due to any woke, liberal propaganda against crackers. It's just natural maturing and coming of age, in most cases.

Of course, the decline is much slower in cities like Chennai, and perhaps all of Tamil Nadu, because the crackers are sold much cheaper and the stalls more accessible and the frenzy around the thing is kept alive (Compare this: In Bengaluru,

cracker stalls are allowed to be setup only in a ground or a large open space, whereas in Chennai, they crop up at every street corner, like tender coconut stalls, throwing all safety precautions to the wind. The prices are also quite high in Bengaluru.

So the real cracker fanatics in Benglauru travel to Hosur in TN, 45 km away, just to buy their stock in bulk as the prices are less there). But even in such places, the interest in crackers in going down and is not going up, that is the thing to be noted.

In the coming years, it would be good to organize Diwali fireworks as a community affair, so that money can be pooled to buy more expensive and more attractive fireworks display which the entire neighborhood can enjoy watching. Akin to the July 4th fireworks in the US,

conducted in specific open grounds instead of everywhere. This will also move the thing from decibel-heavy stuff (the ones causing trouble to infants, dogs, sick people) to rich-display stuff. This way the tradition of Diwali fireworks can be sustained in a more regulated way,

and the cracker industry can focus on producing such kind of fireworks.

Happy #Diwali.

Source Jaatayu FB : m.facebook.com/story.php?stor…