This Deepawali was my first one away from home. And we had no specific program at the hostel. So I with three other friends decided to take a walk and check the flavour of Diwali at Kakinada.
The most exciting observation was the fireworks. Before we set off from the hostel, we could see wonderful fireworks in the evening sky. Hence, we decided to walk in the direction in which the most beautiful fireworks was seen. We encountered a continuous line of small red dynamite-like crackers. It spread around 12 metres on the road and when fire was set to one end, it took 4-5 minutes to reach the other end. The sound of the continuously blasting crackers was enjoyed by a lot of people in the streets and house-tops.
Then, our ears took us to a colony with a large house at the end. Two people in white shirt and black pant emerged out of the tall iron gate with a box in their hand. They opened the cubical box at the top and set fire at a corner. We had no idea what was in the box because it was an unusual shape for a fire cracker. In few seconds it started with a loud bang. There was a loud explosion... and another one... and more of them... The sound was really rocking. I only realized that I was missing the real scene when I saw the people gathered around looking up in the sky. The box was actually firing beautiful, colourful patterns into the sky. The children and the adults alike were cheering the crackers. Their cheering was only heard after the crackers were finished. The box fired 25 rounds into the sky. This was my best experience of a fire cracker in my life. The show was nothing less than the exploding crackers at the opening ceremony of Olympic Games.
Filled with joy and satisfaction, we were on our way back when we saw another unusual view. There was a war between the youths of two buildings facing each other across the road. They used rockets that travelled horizontally along the ground and threw red potato like explosive crackers. It was like the war between two countries! (hope nobody got injured or lost lives :P). I remember how scared we were while passing through that war-zone.
Minutes later, we were walking through slum area. I cannot forget what I saw then. People arranged matchsticks and set fire to those to make their front gates lighted. I was completely dumbfounded. I lacked courage to show them a happy face and greet a happy Diwali. Somewhere there are people who not only buy expensive crackers but also men to explode them, and somewhere people enjoy burning matchsticks. To this, my friend said, "This is India". But, I really appreciated their spirit, their enthusiasm, and at the least, their creativity too.
My next observation was about the houses. The houses were all decorated from top to bottom, front gate to back gate with lights like an Indian bride during her marriage. Some decorations were more bright and colourful than the others, but I can't pick any one or two absolute beauties. Most of them were equally pleasing. However, among the beautiful dressed houses were some gloomy houses. We logically guessed they might have been Christians owing to the considerable number of Christians in Kakinada. But, I wondered why they could not enjoy the festivals. I wanted to say to them "Hey, come on, light up. See how beautiful you city is today!"
The most exciting observation was the fireworks. Before we set off from the hostel, we could see wonderful fireworks in the evening sky. Hence, we decided to walk in the direction in which the most beautiful fireworks was seen. We encountered a continuous line of small red dynamite-like crackers. It spread around 12 metres on the road and when fire was set to one end, it took 4-5 minutes to reach the other end. The sound of the continuously blasting crackers was enjoyed by a lot of people in the streets and house-tops.
Then, our ears took us to a colony with a large house at the end. Two people in white shirt and black pant emerged out of the tall iron gate with a box in their hand. They opened the cubical box at the top and set fire at a corner. We had no idea what was in the box because it was an unusual shape for a fire cracker. In few seconds it started with a loud bang. There was a loud explosion... and another one... and more of them... The sound was really rocking. I only realized that I was missing the real scene when I saw the people gathered around looking up in the sky. The box was actually firing beautiful, colourful patterns into the sky. The children and the adults alike were cheering the crackers. Their cheering was only heard after the crackers were finished. The box fired 25 rounds into the sky. This was my best experience of a fire cracker in my life. The show was nothing less than the exploding crackers at the opening ceremony of Olympic Games.
Filled with joy and satisfaction, we were on our way back when we saw another unusual view. There was a war between the youths of two buildings facing each other across the road. They used rockets that travelled horizontally along the ground and threw red potato like explosive crackers. It was like the war between two countries! (hope nobody got injured or lost lives :P). I remember how scared we were while passing through that war-zone.
Minutes later, we were walking through slum area. I cannot forget what I saw then. People arranged matchsticks and set fire to those to make their front gates lighted. I was completely dumbfounded. I lacked courage to show them a happy face and greet a happy Diwali. Somewhere there are people who not only buy expensive crackers but also men to explode them, and somewhere people enjoy burning matchsticks. To this, my friend said, "This is India". But, I really appreciated their spirit, their enthusiasm, and at the least, their creativity too.
My next observation was about the houses. The houses were all decorated from top to bottom, front gate to back gate with lights like an Indian bride during her marriage. Some decorations were more bright and colourful than the others, but I can't pick any one or two absolute beauties. Most of them were equally pleasing. However, among the beautiful dressed houses were some gloomy houses. We logically guessed they might have been Christians owing to the considerable number of Christians in Kakinada. But, I wondered why they could not enjoy the festivals. I wanted to say to them "Hey, come on, light up. See how beautiful you city is today!"
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