Lighter Side: Candles, Chants, Crackers

New Delhi: For nine minutes at 9pm on Sunday, it seemed as if people were celebrating Diwali — seven months in advance. Earthen lamps and candles were seen beautifully lined up outside houses and in balconies, with some people even bursting firecrackers in response to a call made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in solidarity with the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.
At some places, conch shells were blown followed by chanting of mantras. A few areas witnessed the singing of religious and patriotic songs and sloganeering as hundreds of thousands of Delhiites switched off the lights of their houses.
Through a video message on Friday, Modi had urged people to switch off the lights of their houses at 9pm on April 5, stand at their doors or balconies and light candles, diyas, torches or mobile flashlights for nine minutes. The call was made to showcase that 130 crore Indians were “committed” through a “common resolve” to prevent novel coronavirus from spreading.
In south Delhi’s Old JNU campus, people came out of their houses 15-20 minutes early. While families and the elderly lit dozens of diyas, the youngsters, mostly tenants, lit their mobile phone torches. In DDA flats and housing societies, bhajans and patriotic songs started being played on music systems. A few others started bursting crackers.
Anish Tokas, a Munirka resident, said, “The Prime Minister is trying to emphasise that we are all in this together and will get through the crisi. However, the fireworks were a bit too much to show solidarity.” He was worried about power outage, but liked the collective gesture.
Carrying his toddler to the terrace of his house in Govindpuri, Prakash Sharma, a senior manager with an IT firm, said, “It is more like Diwali for my daughter. I had put up the row of candles in the afternoon and have set them alight now.”
Senior advocate Geeta Luthra, a resident of A-Block in East of Kailash, told TOI that it made her proud to be a part of “inclusive symbolism”. “We may need many such positive steps to rally around our countrymen. But we should assuage our people, calm them down and provide for the daily wager and the homeless,” she added.
In Jangpura, the chanting of “Gayatri Mantra” reverberated in the air even as a drone could be seen flying above the buildings.
Lawyer Anuj Mirdha and his wife Monica, a schoolteacher, were surprised to see bursting of firecrackers. This led to stray dogs getting scared and they started howling and running for cover. “The children may be having fun, but bursting of firecrackers should have been avoided as it affects the air quality,” Mirdha said.
In west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar, streetlights in most blocks were turned off before the clock struck 9. What followed was nothing short of celebrations, with chants of “Bhaag Corona Bhaag”, “Jai Shree Ram”, “Jo Bole So Nihaal” and “Hindustan Zindabad” ringing in the air.
“The firecrackers didn’t stop after nine minutes. However, the streetlights were switched on at exactly 9.09pm,” said Prabhnoor Kaur Nanda, a resident of Tilak Nagar.
In Janakpuri, people started turning off the lights from 8.30pm. For almost 20 minutes past 9pm, the area kept ringing with cracker sounds. Recalling the last request made by the PM, many came out in their balconies banging utensils. Divyansha Dhawan, a teenager living in B-Block, said she didn’t understand the concept of lighting diyas, but still did it.
However, there were many who decided not to participate in the exercise. For Charu (35), an educator living in Mayur Vihar, this move was mere tokenism and a bid to distract people from asking tough questions.
“Health workers are being harassed and doctors are dying due to lack of medical equipment. Questions regarding Covid-19 testing kits and arrangements for daily wage labourers remain unanswered by the government. We need to address these things as a community, not indulge in hollow acts like banging thaalis and lighting diyas,” she said.
Pranesh of Govindpuri asked, “How can people have fun when there are hundreds dying across the world?”