Mangalore: Bright Lights, Colourful Firecrackers Brighten Night Skies on Diwali
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)
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Mangalore, Oct 30: Deepavali, or Diwali as it is known in north India, is the festival which is celebrated by most of the Indians. Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains alike celebrate this festival, widely known as the 'festival of lights'.
People in the coastal region of Karnataka believe that the king who ruled the land named Balindra, who was pushed to the nether world by the Vamana incarnation of Lord Vishnu, visits his kingdom on this day every year. Agriculturists set out food, flowers and lights in their fields to welcome him. In fact, Deepavali is a series of occasions, like the puja of the cows, puja of Goddess Laxmi and the celebration of the victory of Goddess Lakshmi over Narakasura. People also believe that Diwali is celebrated, to mimic the celebration of the Ayodhya citizens on the home-coming of Lord Rama after his successful conquest against Ravana, by lighting up the Ayodhya streets and their own houses with oil lamps.
Jains believe that this is the occasion on which Lord Mahavira attained Nirvana. The festival signifies the victory of the good over the evil and the driving away of the darkness of ignorance with the light of knowledge.
Firecrackers have since long, been the integral part of Diwali celebrations. Firecracker factories located in Sivakasi and other towns of Tamil Nadu work all through the year to supply firecrackers for this festival. Young children and the grown-ups alike rejoice the sight of colourful lights lighting up the sky in various patterns. The ground-wheels, rotating 'Krishna-Chakra', sparklers, rockets, flower pots etc. light up the imaginations of the children while bringing smiles on the faces of the elders.
Bursting of crackers however, is left to little bolder ones. People are seen bursting long chains of crackers by holding them in their hands, to prove that they are not afraid of the enormous light and sound created by them. This is the time of the year when maximum number of burn injuries occur, either while burning the crackers, through careless handling or by innocent bystanders injured by stray crackers.
The people of the coastal Karnataka basked in the colourful lights created by numerous crackers that flooded the market this year. Several additional varieties of crackers were seen in the market. The rains that poured daily since the last two weeks had threatened to play spoilsport with the Diwali celebrations, but the rains made timely exit to allow people to enjoy the festival of lights to their hearts content.
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