RESPONSIBLE CELEBRATIONS

Are our festivals turning into environmental disasters when it comes to the amount of trash generated, and this stems mostly from the people who are actively engaged in society?

Are we living in a strange disposable mentality when it comes to festivals? Things get used for a single weekend or a day and are then abandoned.

Social media influencers and the people whose happening life revolves around taking that most perfect picture and for that using environment unfriendly utilities which would not be taken care of when used should take a breath and ponder as what kind of influence virtual generation is creating.

Recently we celebrated Makar Sankranti, a wonderful concept that indeed teaches oneness while being socially distant at our own homes.

Apart from the trash that was the outcome of the kites and the dangers which people know from years of experiences what remains to be mourned is what happened in the evening. Thousands of light paper lamps were lit and blown away in the sky.

We went to a peaceful sleep after the tiresome day but did we for a moment ponder where those lamps landed? The mess is enormous. It is like a wasteland.

What was sadder to observe was that many people captured the moment of blowing those fire lamps in the sky, at the heritage monuments.

On the one side we take pride in having a world heritage site in our state or country on the other hand do we practice mindful behaviour when we are part of that rich legacy?

Many people converge to buy and throw away mass quantities of food, suck up thousands of megawatts of energy, burn millions of gallons of gas, and produce tons of trash.

The festival’s carbon footprint is huge, and the sad truth is we do it even when we know the negative sides of it.

Sadly we are living in a developing country that has core issues to fight for and does not always have the recycling resource to generate the difference.

But the bigger question is, is it vital to solve the problems or stop generating the problem and not to be at least a part of it.

We might be very joyful by posting those pictures on social handles and that way increase our followers. But aren’t we also part of the bigger cosmos.

Are we not living to pass mindfully those resources to the next generation? Why does taking a picture and leaving a pile of burning trash does not disturb us from the soul?

Why we don’t question our unthoughtful behaviour? These are a few questions that we should ask ourselves more often.

The place of that latest mobile phone with Z cameras is somewhere else and this is probably the time we should use it more sensibly and sink at the moment to capture that moment in our heart.

Many people just buy those fancy things at festivals as they would look good in a picture, and then they leave those commodities behind.

We use toxic chemicals in our fireworks, non-biodegradable plastics in our lanterns, balloons, and confetti, and pour waste into our rivers and landfill - and it’s ruining our planet.

While it’s mostly all about the fun and having a great time, we should not be surprised to see the sustainability issues being regularly ignored by the people themselves.

We should pass on constructive social values to the young eyes watching us. The way we respect our surroundings and environment tells a lot about us as a person.

The new cool is to be socially and environmentally responsible. Generation Z living dangerously on the edge of social media and for that reason having mobile as an extension of their perception, they should stop for a while and reflect.

“Festivals have always been a microcosm of wider society” and the youth reflects the core of our social values.

Celebrations are necessary human behaviour for mental health and these rituals build up healthy communities. What remains to be reevaluated is the way we celebrate.

After all, it is not that hard to seek the balance between tradition and environment preservation and to connect the dots between our everyday activities and these devastating behavioural practices.

While the west is already preparing its younger lot for such programs as Friday for Future, is the youth of our country dancing to the tunes of social media, escaping the harsh reality lurking behind?