Can Diwali be Economical & Eco-friendly?

Above photo is taken by Tanmay

Diwali, or the festival of lights is a beautiful mélange of pooja ceremonies, lamps or diyas, floral decorations, fireworks, etc. but also a reason to clean and decorate your home and to break the monotony of our mundane lives. The festival is such a beautiful blend of all the above elements. While we walk through the few days of it, we cannot forget and avoid the environmental and health hazards it causes, but in our small ways, we can definitely celebrate this auspicious festival keeping in mind to help and save our environment.

Cleaning & disposing......is it a waste of time?



Don't even think of cleaning and decorating your home in one day! Assign your work to all your family members. Most of all, try to reduce clutter from your home by removing all the unwanted things like glass and plastic bottles, newspaper, old clothes, shoes, etc. Make a list of things you need to dispose and and give them away. Start by giving the used glass bottles/ newpapers to the recycle vendors, make a neat heap of your clothes and shoes and donate them to orphanages or needy people. Start your Diwali by helping, organising and disposing unwanted stuff by not just throwing it in the trash but by making sure it its re-used and recycled.

Splurge on embellishements from home!





Just because it is Diwali, it does not mean buy, buy and buy a lot of unnecessary things. Lets talk more about splurging on things that you have at home. Decorating the house can include making a beautiful rangoli with flowers. Now-a-days we find non-toxic rangoli which mixed with soil does not contaminate it, or drapping old sarees as curtains instead of plastic streamers, or using floor rugs. You can also use old scraves or duppattas as table runners or table cloth. Filling up old bronze and brass pots or urns with flowers and displaying them at the corner of your living space also makes it look ethnic and festive.


Above photo is taken by Tanmay

Welcome Nature this Diwali



Bring in some indoor plants and pots. Make the house look cosy. If you already have plants, re-arrange your furniture and plants to make it look different.

Diwali is about lights...





Yes, I totally agree with it but how can we bring radiance in our home while still help our surounding? Use paper lanterns with CFL bulbs instead of the traditional yellow bulbs which are less energy efficient. Light earthen lanterns or diyas instead of lights in the house. Though earthen lamps need oil the quantity is less and will make your home sparkle and save energy bills.

How can we forget Diwali Feasts???



Impress your guest with being traditional. Use banana leaves to serve sweets and meals. In place of glass or plastic glasses, use those made out of mud. This will not only give your party that uber-ethnic edge, but it will also keep it natural.

Fire-crackers....is it a must?



The photos above and below are taken by a budding artist Tanmay



Being Diwali, its hard to not indulge in firecrackers. They cause serious hazards not only to the environment but they also affect animals. Instead of buying traditional chemical cracker, go for eco-friendly crackers. Eco-friendly crackers are made up of recycled paper and the sound produced by these crackers is under the decibel limit defined by the Pollution Board. These crackers produce paper fluffers and different color lights instead of sound on bursting.