It is customary and a tradition to decorate streets and houses with colourful lights on the occasion of 'Deepavali'. The significance of Light is well known. It is our fervent prayer to Lord Almighty to "Lead us from darkness to Light". In reply, as anugraha, the Lord will bestow on us knowledge of 'brahmn' (brahm-jnyan) and the knowledge of the Self- 'atma jnyan'. The symbolism is very important.
Bursting of crackers on the occasion of Deepavali has come into much argument due to air pollution and noise. The population has increased by leaps and bounds and the limit of tolerance has exceeded. This has made the intervention of the Supreme Court necessary and crackers are banned in Delhi for a few days. However, the pros and cons of manufacture and sale of crackers has come into focus. It is now more urgent than in the past the people have to change their mind set and change the habits of polluting air, water and soil.
The epics describe the reasons why we celebrate the festivities of naraka chaturdashi, Bali Padyami and bahu bij. These appear to be mere sociological events, at first sight. However, there is a good deal of geological history behind the epic and mythology dealing with these. The earth has been undergoing lots of changes and all these are matters of geomorphological science. Much has to be done in this regard. However, symbolism is important in the mythological descriptions. We cannot take things for granted in matters of geological and geomorphological accounts that need careful field studies. We may take up this later when need arises.
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