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Over a billion people celebrate Hindu festival in India Festival Of Diwali On Monday, the state government achieved the much-awaited record of lighting the highest number of oil lamps.
Every autumn, the festival, which symbolizes the victory of good over evil and light over darkness, is celebrated by lighting lamps. jazzFireworks displays, feasts and prayers.
Diwali, or Deepavali, meaning “a row of lights”, is reflected in how celebrants light rows of traditional kerosene lamps outside their homes.
Ayodhya, located on the banks of river Saryu in Uttar Pradesh state, registered its name in the Guinness World Records by lighting 2,617,215 lamps on Sunday night on the eve of the main Diwali festival. The lamps were lit during the state government-backed Deepotsav, which celebrates the return of Lord Ram to his birthplace Ayodhya after 14 years of exile.
Apart from lighting lamps, people also set off fireworks over major urban centers like the capital to celebrate. New DelhiBurning millions of kilograms in hours, covering the sky in thick, poisonous smoke. The festival coincides with the beginning of the winter haze season, when stagnant air becomes a trap of smoke from fireworks, traffic and the burning of crop residues.
The capital remained shrouded in dense, poisonous smog on Monday air pollution Levels are rising to more than 16 times the daily maximum recommended by the World Health Organization. According to monitoring organization IQAir, PM2.5 levels reached 248 micrograms per cubic meter in some parts of the city.
By Monday afternoon, the air quality index (AQI) in some parts of the city reached 500, considered “severe”, with the score expected to rise further during the night. last year, AQI score exceeds 1,000 due to pollution, There is a compulsion to reduce visibility levels and cancel flights.
The administration in Delhi has implemented new measures under a Graded Response Action Plan (GREP) across the capital region to curb pollution levels.
Delhi authorities also plan to test cloud seeding from aircraft this month by adding salt-like chemicals to clouds to make it rain and clear the city’s suffocating air. However, experts describe the practice as – at best – a sticking plaster on the age-old problem of air pollution. “We have got everything,” Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa told AFP news agency. He confirmed completion of flight tests and pilot training.
Earlier this month, Supreme Court of India allows limited use of “green fireworks” Despite pollution concerns, for two days during the Diwali festival. The court said the complete ban imposed seven years ago has proved ineffective as smuggling of illegal fireworks continues in the capital.
The decision bans the sale of fireworks brought from outside the National Capital Region and limits their use to a pair of short windows on the eve and day of Diwali, from 6 am to 7 am and from 8 pm to 10 pm.
According to a report by the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago, Delhi is one of the world’s most polluted megacities, and air pollution is cutting the life expectancy of its residents by an average of 11.9 years compared to WHO guidelines. Last year a Lancet Planetary Health study linked 3.8 million deaths in India between 2009 and 2019 to air pollution.
What is Diwali?
While Diwali is a major religious festival for Hindus, it is also celebrated by Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. The origin story of Diwali varies depending on the region. All these stories have an underlying theme – the victory of good over evil.
In southern India, Diwali celebrates the victory of Lord Krishna by destroying the demon Naraka, who was said to imprison women and torment his subjects. In North India, Diwali honors the triumphant return of Lord Rama, his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana from their 14-year exile in the forest.
The festival brings with it many unique traditions, which vary by region. Lights, fireworks, feasting, new clothes and prayers are common in all celebrations.
In southern India, many people take a hot oil bath early in the morning to symbolize bathing in the sacred Ganges River as a form of physical and spiritual purification. In the North, it is ideal to worship Goddess Lakshmi, who symbolizes wealth and prosperity.
Gambling is a popular tradition as there is a belief that those who gamble on Diwali night will be prosperous throughout the year. Many people buy gold on the first day of Diwali, known as Dhanteras – they believe doing so will bring them good luck.